'Babar Azam's Impact: Winning More Matches for Pakistan Than Some 20-Year Greats Combined, says Salman Butt'

Pakistan’s ill-fated ICC Champions Trophy campaign ended in disappointment as the tournament hosts finished winless. Their final group game against Bangladesh was rained out in Rawalpindi, adding to their woes. Hosting their first ICC tournament in 30 years, Pakistan failed to make an impact, suffering a tame loss in the rivalry match against India that sealed their fate.

One of the key players being criticised for this failure is star batter Babar Azam, who made a timid effort against New Zealand and was unable to kick on from a promising start against India. Babar’s torrid run of form in international cricket continued, with many in Pakistan cricket blaming him for the team's failures as a whole.

However, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt became one of the few to speak in support of Babar, demanding that fans have his back during his difficult phase.

Speaking on GNN HD News, Butt said: “His Test average with 9 centuries and 26 fifties is 44.5. One-day average is 56.72 with 19 centuries and 32 half-centuries. In T20Is he has an average of 41, strike-rate of 129. Someone tell me if these stats have been beaten by any single player in Pakistan in the last 20 years.”

“The players who are trying to say they are match-winners, combine them and look at how many matches they have won. I think a comparison is warranted,” continued Butt. Pakistan’s team was heavily criticised after the gulf in quality between their team and India’s unit was exposed in Dubai, across departments.

‘Babar Azam is no Virat Kohli…: Salman Butt’

“Talk sense. You don’t have a Kohli or a Williamson. Babar is no Kohli. But Babar is the best that we have,” continued Butt. “If he’s not scoring runs, he needs back-up now. When he’s scoring, even if you don’t like him you will have to sing his praises with the world.”

Babar looked good for his 23 against India, but was dismissed loosely driving at a wide one from Hardik Pandya. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli went on to score a match-winning century. However, Butt sees this as a reason to persist with supporting Babar, pointing out that supporting cast also matters.

“This dip in form, even Kohli had it, but Kohli is such a high-class player that he kept scoring 50s in those matches,” argued Butt. “Who did he have with him? Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni. Big players, match-winners. Who does Babar have?”

Due to the washout, Pakistan didn’t even receive the opportunity to salvage some pride in this tournament. The team will now face many questions about its future after this disappointing showing in a home tournament.

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