What next for Pakistan’s Babar Azam?

As the poster-boy of Pakistan cricket, Babar Azam should currently be the man being directly compared to England’s Joe Root. But he finds himself out in the cold on the sidelines with his future under a cloud.

Azam has been fighting to prove he is the best batter in the Pakistan team, but his poor form means his lost his place in the team and squad for the remaining two Tests against England.

Scores of 30 and five in the first test loss proved to be the final straw following Azam’s current poor run and Livecricket.io look at whether he can come back from it.

A career average of 43.92 is fairly modest for the quality of player Azam is, but this has been hit hard by his performances over the last few years.

In 2023, Azam batted in nine innings and scored just 204 runs at 22.67. However, the worst was yet to come, with 2024 seeing Azam slip to his lowest average since 2017.

Azam has scored just 148 runs in eight innings at 18.50 this year. He is yet to make a score of note, with a top score of just 31 seeing him fail to get anywhere near a half-century, let alone a century.

Azam losing his place for the second Test against England is not surprising when you consider his form. However, seeing the number one ranked ODI batsman struggle in this way in test matches does mean most will question what happens next for Azam.

At just 30, Azam has a lot of time left on his side. The modern cricketers are still performing well into their mid-30s. Indeed, Root has only been getting better in the last few years and he is now 33. However, the statistical difference between Root and Azam is stark.

Azam has scored 3997 runs in 100 innings at 43.92. Meanwhile, Root sits on 12,664 runs from 268 innings at 51.48. Azam has nine centuries, with Root notching 35. While Root has three years on Azam, the difference in run-scoring between the two is massive, and it is only getting bigger.

Is there some light at the end of the tunnel for Azam when looking at Root’s form though?

Root himself went through a tough patch in 2020 as he failed to score a single century in 13 innings that year. Root battled hard to rekindle his form before enjoying his most prolific year to date, notching 1708 runs in 29 innings at 61.00 in 2021.

Despite this, Root still averaged over 40 during his lean run. This is where the two differ, with Azam failing to score centuries or really contribute to his team. Batting at four, runs are vital, and they have now evaded Azam for too long.

Being left out of a series is not the be-all and end-all for a player, but it hardly instils confidence. Of course, having time away from the middle will likely help Azam to rest and refocus after having to shoulder a lot of the expectation when it comes to Pakistan cricket.

The major worry for Azam will be that for many players, the only way to rekindle their form is to keep playing. Losing the middle of their bat is never easy, but finding it in the nets is very different to taking to the middle in a Test match.

When the game is going against you, things can feel never ending. Unplayable balls seem to constantly find an edge or thump into the pad plump in front. Deliveries a player would back themselves to flay to the boundary suddenly flash past the bat or loop up into the air, piling the pressure onto the batter.

Perhaps the focus will switch to using Azam in limited overs cricket for now. As the number one ODI batsman in the world, he will have the confidence in the 50 over format to score runs. Perhaps the difference in style and not needing to focus on batting for a whole day provides a welcome break for Azam.

Worryingly, things do not get any easier for Azam and Pakistan in the coming months. Two further Tests against England will be followed by a tour of Australia in which they play three ODIs and three T20s. They then face Zimbabwe in a similar tour before taking on South Africa.

Pakistan’s next set of Tests come against South Africa in unforgiving conditions against a side that is quickly improving with a brutal bowling attack and batting lineup that scores runs.

If Pakistan find a way to beat England in either of the last two Tests with their top-order scoring runs, then it is tough to see Azam coming back into the team anytime soon. Test cricket is an unforgiving place, and perhaps time away from the spotlight will help Azam more than forcing him to rekindle his form in a side that has no confidence.

At only 30, Azam will likely return in 2025, but that air of near-invincibility with the bat is well and truly gone.