Babar Azam joins elite 16000 run club, but short-ball troubles continue

Dubai: Pakistan's superstar Babar Azam became the fifth Pakistani batter to score 16,000 international runs across formats, getting there during Pakistan’s ODI tri-series opener against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on Sunday.

He started the day seven runs short. He finished with 45 off 57 balls, with six fours, before Pavan Rathnayake caught him off Eshan Malinga. Only Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Javed Miandad have scored more for Pakistan. That is an elite list.

The 32-year-old’s numbers aren’t in doubt. His form lately is bad, and troubles handling of the short ball keeps coming up. He got out to another short ball in this game. It has become a recurring theme, and it's not a good sign at all.

The timing matters. The 2027 World Cup will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, where pitches tend to offer pace and bounce. Bowlers will have seen the footage, and they will test him early and often.

Shoaib Akhtar has already said Babar’s place in the ODI side could be questioned if his form doesn’t pick up.

Babar has the experience to fix it, and Pakistan need him to. They go into the World Cup far better off with him scoring runs, and working on the short ball should be the first item on his list.