Pakistani batting star Babar Azam has been in the news for his lack of form with the bat. The 29-year-old has responded with knocks of 76 and 45 during the Champions One-Day Cup tournament. On Sunday, the 29-year-old was in full flow as he smashed Shahnawaz Dahani for 5 fours in an over.
There is no doubt that Babar Azam is a delight to watch when in full flow. His timing and his ability to piece the gaps is second to none. One of the biggest criticism that Babar Azam faces is the fact that he doesn’t hit too many sixes.
Some of the Pakistani batters past and present have been known to effortlessly clear the field. The likes of Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Misbah-ul-Haq come to mind when we speak about six hitting batters for Pakistan.
Also Read: 5 fours in five balls- Watch how Babar Azam decimated Shahnawaz Dahani in Champions One-Day Cup game
Where does Babar Azam rank in the six hitting amongst Pakistani batters?
Pakistani batting mainstay Babar Azam has played 54 Test matches so far and is just 38 runs short of reaching the 4000 mark. In Test cricket the right-handed batter has hit 23 sixes and is tied in the 13th spot with Ijaz Ahmed and Abdul Razzaq. Misbah-Ul-Haq leads the list with 81 sixes followed by Younus Khan with 70.
In the ODI format, Shahid Afridi is leading the list with 349 sixes from 393 matches. Inzamam Ul Haq is 2nd with 143 maximums from 375 matches. Babar Azam from his 117 ODI matches has hit just 50 sixes which slots him in the 13th place just one behind Moin Khan who has 61 sixes. For the record in the current generation of Pakistan batters Fakhar Zaman has the most sixes (74) from 82 matches.
Finally if we speak about the T20I record, Mohammad Rizwan leads the list with 92 sixes from 102 matches. Fakhar Zaman is second with 76 big hits from 92 games followed by Mohammad who has 76 sixes from 119 matches while Shahid Afridi has 73 from 98 games.
Babar Azam so far has played 123 games and hit a total of 72 sixes. He just needs five more sixes to go to the 2nd spot overhauling Hafeez, Afridi, and Fakhar Zaman. In the domestic format too Babar Azam has been a conservative batter. The right-handed batter has hit 35 sixes in first class cricket, along with 74 in List A, and 206 in domestic T20 matches.
Batter |
Format |
Sixes |
Babar Azam |
|
|
|
Test Matches |
23 |
|
ODI Matches |
60 |
|
T20I Matches |
72 |
|
First Class Matches |
35 |
|
List A Matches |
74 |
|
Domestic T20 Matches |
134 |
Total |
|
398 |