Tag: Babar Azam

DUBAI:  Pakistan’s all-format skipper Babar Azam has been included in the ICC  Men’s Test Team of the Year 2022. 

Babar, who is also the captain of the ODI Team of the Year, has now made his mark on the  Test team of the year 2022, announced by the International Cricket Council on Tuesday.

England red-ball captain Ben Stokes has been named captain of the side which includes four Australians, three English players including Stokes, and one each from Pakistan, West Indies, India and South Africa.

Babar had a dream run with the bat which saw him becoming the highest run-scorer in the longest format in the previous year.

He amassed a staggering 1184 runs at an impressive average of 69.94 in the calendar year, including four centuries and seven fifties. He scored a century against each of the four opponents he faced in 2022.

“The much-anticipated home series against Australia saw Babar hit 390 runs in home conditions, and he amassed 348 more when England visited later in the year. His 196 against the Aussies in Karachi in March was, and still is, his highest individual score in Tests” said ICC in a media release.

ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year

Usman Khawaja (Australia)
Kraigg Braithwaite (West Indies)
Marnus Labuchagne (Australia)
Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Jonny Bairstow (England)
Rishabh Pant (WK) (India)
Ben Stokes (C) (England)
Pat Cummins (Australia)
Kagiso Rabada ( South Africa)
Nathan Lyon (Australia)
James Anderson (England)

DUBAI: Pakistan’s all-format skipper Babar Azam has been named captain of the ICC ODI Men’s Team of the Year 2022. 

International Cricket Council on Tuesday revealed the 2022 ODI Men’s Team of the year, led by star national batter Babar, who is also nominated for the ICC ODI Player of the Year Award.

“The ICC Team of the Year recognises 11 outstanding individuals who have impressed one and all – be it with the bat, the ball or their all-around exploits in a calendar year, said cricket’s governing body in a media release.

The top-ranked ODI batter, Babar, who has been ruling the rankings chart since July 2021, accumulated 679 runs in nine matches during the outgoing year.

Babar carried on his astounding form in the 50-over format and crossed the fifty-plus score eight times and converted three of those into centuries. Babar finished the year with a stunning average of 84.87.

“Pakistan captain Babar Azam once again showed his prowess in the 50-over format, displaying once again why he has ruled the roost at the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings since July 2021.” read ICC’s statement.

“It was a memorable year for Babar as captain of the Pakistan ODI team, winning three series out of three. Pakistan were unstoppable in the ODI format, losing just one match (against Australia) out of nine. His leadership skills means that he leads the ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year for 2022.”

Besides Babar, the team picked by the ICC includes two players each from Australia, India, New Zealand and West Indies along with Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza.

ICC ODI Men’s Team of the Year 2022

Babar Azam (C) (Pakistan)
Travis Head ( Australia)
Shai Hope ( West Indies)
Shreyas Iyer (India)
Tom Latham (WK) ( New Zealand)
Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe)
Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Bangldesh)
Alzarri Joseph ( West Indies)
Mohammed Siraj (India)
Trent Boult (New Zealand)
Adam Zampa (Australia)

 

DUBAI: Star batter and India’s former captain Virat Kohli has improved his rankings on the ICC ODI batter’s list after a phenomenal run in the recent series against Sri Lanka.  

Kohli smashed two centuries while gathering a staggering 283 runs from three innings during the series and climbed two spots to fourth overall with 750 points on the latest ODI batter’s rankings.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, however, retained his top spot with 887 rating points followed by second-placed Rassie van der Dussen (766) and third-placed Quinton de Kock (759).

With three ODI matches at home against New Zealand, starting today, Kohli has a golden chance to make further leaps on the list.

Meanwhile, other Indian players, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav were also rewarded for their performances against Sri Lanka.

“Gill hit a century and a fifty during the series and his 207 runs at an average of 69 helped the opener improve 10 spots to 26th overall on the rankings for ODI batters.” said ICC in a media release on Wednesday.

However, Siraj jumped a massive 15 spots to third, with a career-best rating of 685 points, on the latest ODI bowler rankings following his nine wickets in the series. Kuldeep, meanwhile, moved seven places to 21st on the list.

Mohammad Nawaz was the big mover for Pakistan, with the left-arm spinner improving 12 spots to 28th on the list for bowlers after collecting six wickets in the New Zealand ODIs.

READ: Australia’s dominant show crush Sri Lanka in U19 Women’s T20 WC

KARACHI: Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam has sent a clear message to his critics, saying he does not have to appease anyone. 

“My job is to play cricket and enjoy my game,” he said in a pre-series press talk on Sunday. “I do not need to answer or satisfy anyone. I know my game and my responsibility, be it as a batsman or as a captain.”

The strong reply from Pakistan’s captain came at a time when the national side has just finished its home Test season with a series whitewash by England, followed by a nil-nil draw against New Zealand.

Ahead of the three-match One-Day international series against New Zealand, commencing tomorrow, Babar said his team would try to switch from the Test mode as quickly as possible and continue their momentum in the white-ball format.

“We have been playing positive cricket in white ball. We will try to continue this momentum and begin this new year with positive results” he added.

Talking about Shan Masood’s possible inclusion in the playing XI since he has been named as the team’s vice-captain in the upcoming ODIs, the skipper maintained that none of the players was certain to play the upcoming matches.

“At this moment, I cannot say about any individual player, be it vice-captain or XYZ, that he will be part of playing XI ” he said.

“We will play our best XI and try to win this series” he added.

With three uncapped – Tayyab Tahir, Usama Mir and Kamran Ghulam – and two returning – Haris Sohail and Shan – players selected in the squad, Babar insisted it was not difficult for him to accommodate new faces in the team.

“They (Haris and Shan) have already played for Pakistan. Tayyab Tahir and Kamran Ghulam are the top performers in domestic cricket and they must grab it if they are given the opportunity to play for the national team” he said

The three-match series is a part of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League. The second and third ODIs will take place on January 11 and 13, respectively.

Pakistan ODI Squad: Babar Azam (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir and Usama Mir

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Babar Azam opened up regarding the team’s approach towards the tense second Test against New Zealand that ended in a close draw at National Bank Cricket Arena here on Friday.

Babar, while speaking to the media following the conclusion of the home Test series against New Zealand claimed the team’s prime goal was to go for the run chase but two quick wickets halted the team’s expedition.

“Our plan was to go for the win and we started the run chase in the morning, we tried to go session by session and after that, we’ll see where we stand in the final session. So, we thought that we can go for the chase and the partnership between Saud and Saifi bhai depicted our game plan,” said Babar.

“But, when Saud got out and Agha went into bat they [New Zealand] did not set the field as we were anticipating as obviously the too got a bit defensive but when Agha got out they once again came back into the game.

“It is a funny game and it goes this way, sometimes you are favourites and sometimes it’s the opposition and at the end our tail also showcased responsibility and they also tried to put pressure on them.

“It is difficult to handle the new ball and when almost all fielders are up it mounts an added pressure on the batter but I think Naseem and Abrar played really well.”

Pakistan skipper also heaped praises on wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed, who struck a fighting century in the tense run chase and kept Pakistan’s hopes alive by terming the latter’s return to Test cricket a “mega dream comeback”.

“Sarfaraz Ahmed’s comeback was brilliant. Whenever he got a chance, he proved it,” Babar said.

“Saifi [Sarfaraz] bhai did not let the fire die within him in four years. His work ethic was always there and continued to wait for his turn. We could’ve won also briefly, and it was because of his confidence and belief,” he added.

It is worth mentioning that Pakistan forced a sensational draw after Sarfaraz scripted a sensational pullback of the sinking ship as he played a memorable knock of 176-ball 118 to steer Pakistan out of the crisis after they were reduced 80/5 in the first session on the final day while chasing a target of 319 runs.

READ: ‘My best innings so far,’ Sarfaraz on his sensational hundred against NZ

DUBAI: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam has been nominated by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the player of the month award for December 2022. 

Following his sensational run with the bat in the outgoing month, the Pakistan skipper has been shortlisted for the award along with England’s Harry Brook and Australia’s Travis Head.

“The Pakistan skipper continues to enjoy a fine run of form with bat in hand, filling his boots against England and the start of the New Zealand series,” said ICC in a media release on Thursday.

Babar finished the month with 523 runs at 65.37, including two brilliant centuries.

“Making runs in all four Tests he played, Babar showcased his consistency even with the burden of captaincy, making a pair of hundreds and three scores of fifties in eight knocks.” it added.

“The month began with his 136 on day three of the first Test in Rawalpindi, hitting 19 fours and a six to help his side to 579. He went on to make three fifties in four innings across the second and third Test matches in Multan and Karachi respectively, finishing with 348 runs at 58 for the series.”

“Babar returned to Karachi for the first Test match against New Zealand, and enjoyed his time in the middle in the first innings, making 161 in a six-hour stay.”

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan’s top-notch batter has also been shortlisted for the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Player of the Year 2022 and Men’s ODI Cricketer of the year 2022.

The right-handed batter is in the top five rankings across each format and collected 2598 runs in 44 matches, he played in 2022.

READ: Haris returns as Pakistan name squad for New Zealand ODIs

 

DUBAI: Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam has slipped to the third spot in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Test Batting Rankings.

As per the latest rankings shared by the ICC, the right-handed batter has been demoted to third place as he failed in two innings of the ongoing home Test series against New Zealand.

Notably, Babar played a magnificent 161-run knock in the first innings of the first Test against New Zealand but he could score a mere 14 in the second.

The captain then remained unlucky in the first innings of the ongoing second Test and could score 24 runs following a mix-up between the wicket with opening batter Imam-ul-Haq.

His recent performance, henceforth, resulted in Australia’s Steve Smith replacing him in the rankings.

It is apropos to mention that after accumulating 348 runs in the home series against England, Babar moved to his career-best second position in the Test batting rankings.

Besides Babar, opening batter Abdullah Shafique, who is going through a rough patch also slipped in the rankings as he was demoted 11 spots, moving to 37th rank.

Meanwhile, Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne continued his domination on the Test batting rankings as he managed to hold on to his top spot while his skipper Pat Cummins held the top spot in Test bowling rankings.

READ: ‘It was my dream to score my first century in Karachi,’ says Saud 

KARACHI: Pakistan’s left-handed opener Imam-ul-Haq opened up on his mix-up between the wicket with skipper Babar Azam and asserted that the latter could not hear his call.

Babar fell prey to miscommunication in the 25th over when Pakistan were struggling to overcome the horrible start. Imam worked through Michael Bracewell’s delivery with Henry Nicholls chasing.

The skipper wanted to make it three and ran desperately after completing the second. Imam, on the other hand, started off but soon stopped with Babar already more than halfway down with Imam returning to his crease and Bracewell did no mistake to dislodge the bails.

Imam in an interview following the conclusion of the second day’s play of the second Test responded to a question regarding Babar’s frustrating run-out after both batters ended up at the same end and termed it miscommunication.

“Look it is cricket and run-outs happen. Unfortunately, we have been in such a situation two-three times before and I also got run-out against West Indies and today he got run-out,” said Imam.

“It is a part of the game and now will try to console him,” Imam added cheekily.

“Once again, it is cricket. But, I think it was a misunderstanding and he could not listen to my call of ‘No’ so he kept running and when I saw him he was standing right beside me and it was too late then,” Imam shared.

“So, such miscommunication occurs in cricket sometimes,” he concluded.

It is worth mentioning here that New Zealand pushed Pakistan to the backfoot by dismantling the hosts’ top order after posting a mammoth 449 runs in the first innings of the ongoing second Test.

Left-handed batters Imam and Saud Shakeel, however, launched a counter-attack as they raised a 55-run partnership for the fourth wicket before stumps.

Imam (74*) and Saud (13*) will now resume Pakistan’s first innings at 154/3 as they are still 295 runs behind.

READ: ‘Biggest New Year’s resolution is to win the World Cup,’ says Pandya

LONDON: World’s top-ranked ODI batters Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq have been named in Wisden’s men’s ODI team of the year 2022.

Wisden – a renowned cricket publication – picked a combined world team in the men’s ODIs featuring players who enjoyed a scintillating year in the 50-over format.

Consequently, Pakistan’s opening batter Imam, alongside his captain and top-ranked batter Babar was featured in the team of the year as they both had a remarkable year in the ODIs.

Apart from the duo of Babar and Imam, the combined XI features Travis Head (Australia), Shreyas Iyer (India), Tom Latham (New Zealand), Rassie van der Dussen (South Africa), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Bangladesh), Alzarri Joseph (West Indies), Mohammed Siraj (India), Adam Zampa (Australia) and Trent Boult (New Zealand).

The second-ranked T20I batter Imam had another remarkable year with the bat in ODIs as he 505 runs at 72.14 in eight ODIs with the help of two centuries that came in the home series against Australia.

“In each of his first six innings this year, Imam-ul-Haq made it to 60, demonstrating the consistency that has delivered him a record-breaking start to his ODI career,” wrote Wisden about Imam.

Meanwhile Pakistan’s star batter and captain Babar, too, had another scintillating year with the bat in ODIs. The top-ranked batter continued to pile runs in the shorter format and perhaps amassed 679 runs in just nine matches at an astounding average of 84.87, laced with three centuries.

Meanwhile, the right-handed batter also has five fifties to his name in ODIs this year.

“By now established as perhaps the pre-eminent ODI batter of his era, 2022 was another bumper year for Babar Azam,” wrote Wisden.

“He reached fifty in eight of his nine innings, with three consecutive hundreds against Australia and West Indies making him the first batter to make a trio of tons in a row twice,” the statement added.

It is pertinent to mention that having won the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award last year, Babar is once again in the race for the title as he was among the nominees announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday.

READ: Shahid Afridi’s eldest daughter Aqsa Shahid Afridi gets married

DUBAI: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam has been nominated by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Player of the Year 2022.

Babar, who won the ODI cricketer of the year award in 2021, has now been nominated for the most prestigious award in cricket alongside England’s Ben Stokes, New Zealand’s Tim Southee and Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza.

The right-handed batter who is in the top five rankings across each format, collected 2598 runs in 44 matches, he played in 2022.

Babar was the only player to breach the 2000-run mark in the calendar year 2022 with his 2598 runs coming at an average of 54.12, which included eight hundreds and 17 fifties.

“The 2021 ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year continued to rule in the 50-over format, scoring 679 runs in nine matches. It is a testament to his consistency that he registered scores of 50 or more in eight of those innings,” wrote ICC in a press release.

“He continues to hold on to his top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings and is once again in the running to win the ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year 2022,” the statement added.

Besides Babar, England’s Stokes, who scored 1066 runs and took 33 wickets in 28 matches across formats, has got the reward of his consistent performances that include a gritty 52* in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup against Pakistan.

Zimbabwean all-rounder Raza, on the other hand, continued to thrill with his tremendous all-round skills and thus enjoyed a magnificent year. The right-handed batter scored 1380 runs and claimed 33 wickets in 39 matches.

Meanwhile, Southee, who is currently playing the first Test against Pakistan, has thus far claimed 65 wickets in 31 matches, the highest by a Kiwi bowler in a calendar year.

READ: Sodhi removes Imam, Sarfaraz as first Test enters decisive phase at Tea