Adding more weapons to arsenal

Salman Butt believes Babar widening his range of shots can work for or against him

Babar Azam has a worldwide following. All cricket lovers love to see this Pakistani batting maestro bat. His flowing drives are nothing short of poetry, which mesmerises cricket enthusiasts.

Pakistan captain is arguably the best all-format batter currently and the world’s governing body of the game, International Cricket Council (ICC), has also acknowledged it by handing him the ICC Men’s Player of the Year award.

Despite being ridiculously consistent at the grandest stage of the game, he has many critics, especially in the country, who accuse him of playing selfishly and not adopting modern-day cricket. He is often called out for his moderate strike rate in white-ball cricket.

It seems like Babar has now decided to alter his game following the latest requirements by adding new strokes to his batting arsenal.

The 28-year-old is currently leading his new franchise in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Peshawar Zalmi and he will have the supervision of legendary batter Inzamam-ul-Haq, PSL’s most successful batter Kamran Akmal and two-time World Cup-winning captain Darren Sammy to work on his shortcomings.

Babar was recently seen working with Kamran Akmal, who has been a critic of his slow-ish batting and captaincy. During the nets, he looked to try different unorthodox shots and fans might see a new version of Babar in PSL 8, where he is seen playing 360 degrees.

“How to dominate spinners and playing calculative big shots were agenda during the session with Babar. I told him what things he must do and we worked on every aspect during the sessions,” Akmal said during a press conference ahead of their game against Karachi Kings. “He has great skills and his work ethic is top-notch, this is the reason behind his consistency but every top batter also looks to work on developing shots.

“I have tried to add a new shot in his batting arc as a batting mentor. In T20, a batter needs flow and momentum, it is a good sign he is practising new things as he doesn’t want to lag behind.”

After playing five years with Karachi Kings, Babar is leading Zalmi in PSL 8 and Akmal thinks he will fill the vacuum in the Peshawar-based franchise’s batting.

On the other hand, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt had a different opinion over Babar trying out new shots. He believes it can go either way. He cited the example of Shan Masood, who wasted his chances at the international level by playing shots unlike him.

“We saw Shan Masood was playing exceptionally well for the last two years but when he made a comeback in the Pakistan team, he started playing shots he never played, such as reverse sweep, hitting straight past the bowler and he failed to create an impact,” said Butt while talking to Bol News. “It didn’t suit his game. One more example from the first game of PSL 8 is when he was playing his own game he was doing great but the moment he tried scoop, he was caught.”

He added that great players look to evolve by improving their skillset during different phases of their careers. For instance, if a batter is strong at the off stump, the opposition analyses and looks to exploit their weaker areas. In this situation, a batter has to evolve their game and polish the weaker areas to counter their plans.

The former left-handed batter maintained Babar has been consistent for the last three years because he looks to stay ahead of the opposition. He has the plan to counter the opposition’s each plot against him. The best players around the world struggle at one time or another during their careers when they go through a rough phase, and it is very natural.

“These things are ever-evolving and it is great that Babar is looking to work more on himself with a former cricketer like Kamran Akmal. Zalmi also has a legendary player like Inzamam-ul-Haq who can provide him with a better insight and there is a huge possibility that he will learn something new or the game which already suits him, this can go either way,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Butt highlighted that playing conventional shots also does not guarantee success, quoting examples of Mohammad Hafeez and Asif Ali, who play simple strokes but lack consistency.

In contrast, he spoke about South Africa’s batting legend AB de Villiers who was immensely unorthodox but was effective in all formats of the game as he knew when to play which stroke.

“It depends on how much game awareness you have regarding the format you play,” he maintained. “AB de Villers didn’t use to play scoop in Test and [India’s] Suryakumar Yadav got out early in his first Test because this format demands different challenges and bowlers have the upper hand. Out-of-the-box shots are not easy to execute and you get out early.”

Meanwhile, Babar himself acknowledged that he is trying to broaden his horizons by adding new tricks to his bag. However, being a perfectionist when it comes to his batting, he assured that he will not play those half-baked shots at the competitive stage unless he masters them in the nets. Moreover, he also addressed his much-talked-about vulnerability against leg spinners, mentioning that he is not paying extra attention to it.

“I am looking to fine-tune these scoops,” he stated. “There must be clarity over trying new things as it is not possible to execute them after practising for two days. It can take weeks and months over trying new things in match situations and I won’t hurry in executing too,” he added.

“I practice regarding every aspect of my batting and not just leg-spinners. I try to tick boxes and look to challenge myself as per match situation,” said the Zalmi captain. “A player should be ready for everything, I practice for spin bowling more because they bowl more compared to pacers in Asian conditions.”