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Babar Azam’s Career Downfall :The Challenges He Faces Now

Babar Azam's Career Downfall The Challenges He Faces Now

Although once considered one of the brightest prospects in global cricket, Babar Azam’s Career Downfall .it seems that Babar Azam has experienced some problems that cast a doubt on his further prospects in the sport. He had a meteoric rise to the top, and his elegant batting skill and regularity of performance were compared to those of other best cricketers of his time. But in spite of his early success, the present performances have resulted in a distinct loss of his career, and the question arises that many fans, pundits, and former players disagree, because of the decline that has been noticed in his career.

This blog will look at the factors that lead to the downfall of Babar Azam in his career, the issues he battles with and how he can regain his place among the best players of world cricket.

The Rise of Babar Azam

It is necessary to highlight how Babar Azam has shot into the limelight in international cricket before delving into his tribulations. Babar was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and was extremely talented even at an early age. He got his mark in 2015 against Pakistan, and right away, his graceful stroke play, flawless technique, and pressure abilities brought out the best in him. His match in the short form of the game, especially the ODI and T20I game, was sufficient in establishing his signature on the upper crust of contemporary cricketers.

Babar Azam had by 2017 established himself as the best Pakistani batter. His record across all forms of cricket, as well as important knocks under pressure, led him to be known as one of the most dependable cricketers in the world. He was a captain of Pakistan, and he participated in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, and his leadership qualities were well respected. His performance on international fronts is brilliant as he has run an aggregate  13,871  runs, comprising 31 centuries and 94 fifties. All these statistics speak for themselves to prove his great batting skills. Yet, in spite of these early achievements, it turns out that the road has been particularly to him in recent times.

Babar Azam’s Career Downfall

The Pressure of Captaincy

Captaincy has been one of the paramount aspects adding to the inconsistency of Babar Azam in the recent past. Being a captain is a massive burden, and one can only imagine a player who was already under pressure to deliver as an individual adding the pressure of leading the team. Expectations of him being a captain were that he would be a leader of the front both in the batting and decision making, and this increased exponentially. It is this psychological pressure that could have impacted his bat performances.

Although Babar has already shown to be a good leader, it is possible that when a fronting team sometimes fails to achieve the expectations, the leadership position demands might become taxing. Being a captain in a national team is also a challenge in itself, and the media, fans, and former cricketers put too much pressure on them which could prove unnecessary.

 The Struggle with Consistency

Consistency was one of the salient features of Babar Azam during his early stages of his career. But his performances in recent years have been spotty. Babar has failed to impress in most of the series no matter whether it is in the longer format of the game or the limited-overs game of cricket. He has found it very hard to sustain the shape that made him a consistent run-scorer.

Babar Azam’s form in T20Is and ODIs turned out to be one of the biggest discussion points in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. His failure to turn starts into big scores and the failure of the other Pakistan top order being inconsistent has contributed to pressure that is piled on him to score in every match. He lost form and his batting technique, which people admired because it was so smooth, lost its flair, and opposition bowlers got smarts to get him out.

Technical Issues and Mental Fatigue

Cricketers are no exception as far as technical difficulties are concerned. Babar Azam, who has proved to be very technically competent, has demonstrated a weakness to different kinds of bowling, especially spin in the sub-continent and short ones on slower surfaces. He has proved not great at adjusting to these situations, with a number of failures in the top order occurring when Babar could not get off the mark.

Struggle Against Off-Spin 

 Among the serious weaknesses that have come to the fore is the challenge Babar Azam faces with off-spin bowling. Babar has the reputation of playing elegant cover drives and pull shots, but he has struggled with quality off-spinners many times. He has failed to select the spin or take the flight of the ball, which has seen him being dismissed in important matches. Against spinners who change distance and bounce, Babar has also never played himself, and this has been a key reason for his fall in recent times.

The fight that Babar has against off-spin must be worked on in order to remain one of the best batsmen in the world. To be consistent again, he will be required to improve his technique and approach against spinners, especially during spinning conditions.

Also, constant traveling, team roles, and the pressures of the media can cause mental exhaustion. The brain part of cricket is very essential to the physical one. This huge burden of delivering every match and his role as a leader might only have led Babar to his recent poor form.

 Babar Azam’s Performance in Pakistan vs West Indies ODI Series 2025

In 2025, an aspect of Babar Azam struggled especially when Pakistan played an ODI series against the West Indies. Babar, who was supposed to be a leader in front, fell terribly short of his duties with the bat. Babar did not score above 56 in three matches of the ODI series. He had pathetic performances; after scoring 47 runs in his first ODI, 0 against India, 9 runs in his 3 rd ODI, the batsman was dismissed cheaply in all the matches. This subpar form led to Pakistan losing the series to the West Indies 2-1.

In an attempt to make the frustrations even worse, Babar was omitted to the T20 side because of the poor strike rate and in his inability to bring the momentum of the longer format to the shorter one. Excluding him from the T20 team was another apparently devastating dart to his career, as it raised the question of his contribution in the fast-paced format. The plate-falling strike rate of Babar, which was a cause of concern during T20s, also contributed largely towards his omission, and the pressure on him just kept on increasing.

 The Media and Public Expectations

As a famous cricketer, Babar Azam is always in the focus of attention. The fans of the Pakistani team are among the most demanding all over the world. Having sky-high expectations, Babar can frequently be judged in terms of his shortcomings, which gives rise to the numerous critics as soon as Babar fails to perform. Although the media contribute towards the motivation of the players, too much criticism may be detrimental to the confidence of a cricketer.

Is There a Way Back to Form?

Nevertheless, despite the problems that Babar Azam met, it is necessary to note that he still remains one of the most talented cricketers in the world. Due to this fact, the perfect solution to his possible comeback is to tackle the scenarios that have led to his fall.

 Revamping His Leadership Role

The one solution is that Babar should spend time on his batting and leave the captainship responsibility to a different player. It is exhausting to captain a team as big as that of Pakistan, and this might be one of the factors why he is not doing as well in recent times. A hiatus in captaincy may do him the world of good because he can now concentrate on his batting alone and the loss of confidence in the process.

 Strengthening the Team Dynamics

The management and selectors in Pakistan should also make sure that there is more stability in the batting lineup that places less burden on Babar. It can enable Babar to play less risky cricket and his natural style by building partnerships and making sure that the middle order is there to back him.

Tactical Adjustments

The technical modifications that Babar is required to focus on in order to deal with certain bowling styles. It may be improving in the field of his footwork to spin deliveries, or working on his shot against the short balls, but flexibility in his technique will assist him to get back to being the best.

Mental Conditioning

Cricket is a figure of the mind as well as that of the body. It can be advantageous to put Babar Azam through mental conditioning programs so that he can handle the stress and pressure better. Special attention should be paid to his mental condition so that he can have a successful comeback.

Conclusion

The collapse of Babar Azam’s career is not a depiction of loss but an accumulation of some challenges along the way. The reason Babar can still turn it around and get back to his best is with the proper support, a hiatus in the captaincy, and the mental strength to get through these tough times. The cricketing world is aware of how special Babar is, and it would be too soon to rule a player of his magnitude out.

As cricket fans, we need to be supportive of Babar Azam to go through this stage. It is common knowledge that every great cricketer is affected by adversity, and it is on how one rises above it that one can be judged. There is one fear that Babar Azam can overcome to become stronger and make Pakistan successful in the next few years.

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