Babar Azam made his return to the T20 squad after a long absence, during the series against South Africa. However, his return was far from ordinary; he firmly re-established his dominance, breaking several world records along the way.
But it was in the final match that Babar displayed his most formidable form. His blistering 68 runs off 47 balls led Pakistan to a 2-1 series victory. Despite losing the first match, Pakistan ultimately clinched the win thanks to his brilliant innings.
Babar has played many such innings in the past. He even has a century in T20 internationals. However, this latest performance stood out from the rest.
Babar is usually seen making runs through his classic cover drives and straight bat shots. He hasn’t been known for scoring runs with unorthodox shots before, but that changed this time. One of the most effective weapons in T20 cricket is the sweep shot, a stroke Babar has never been entirely comfortable with. However, in Saturday’s match, he completely transformed. He played the sweep shot several times to great effect, with multiple boundaries coming from that very stroke.
This change did not go unnoticed by Pakistan’s current captain, Salman Ali Agha. He commented, “The sweep shot, which is not typically associated with Babar, earned him a lot of runs today. He knows that as a top player, he must continue to develop his game. I truly hope we will see more of this Babar in the future because if he performs like this, we will certainly win matches. This is a great message for us.”
Salman went on to add, “We are all so happy for Babar. The whole country is proud of him. Big players step up in big matches, and today Babar did exactly that. I hope we see this Babar for the next four to five years.”