In both innings of the first test, he looked out of sorts, with scores of 3 off 41 deliveries and 6 off 32 deliveries. 

Pakistan fans generally have very short memories. Their daggers were out immediately after Azhar's two sluggish failures, and no one remembered that in Pakistan's last test series, against Australia, he amassed 300 runs in 5 innings, including a solid knock of 185.

"oh but that was scored at home, he does nothing away from home"

Hellooo, who scored a double ton at the MCG? Surely the fans have forgotten that too.

Azhar has been one of Pakistan's most dependable test batters in the past decade. 19 test centuries is no joke, neither are 7,000 test runs. The only Pakistan batters who have got more are the big 4 - Younis Khan, Javed Miandad, Inzamam Ul Haq, and Mohammad Yousuf.

He is not in the same league as the big 4 but his test average is at par with the likes of Misbah, Saeed Anwar, Hanif Mohammad, Saleem Malik, and Zaheer Abbas.

For those who think that he scores only on flat UAE decks need a reminder that Azhar has scored a test century in every country he has played except for New Zealand and South Africa. And he has scored a test ton against all opposition except for South Africa.

Azhar may not be a test great, but he has given his fair share of great test knocks, and totally deserves his place in the side.

What the current and past team managements think of him will forever remain a mystery. Despite being the most prolific first class batter in Pakistan he was kept out of the side for 10 years. That too after scoring a debut test century.

When he eventually made a come back in 2020, he showed what Pakistan was missing by hitting test hundreds against New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the West Indies.

In 12 tests since his comeback, he scored 703 runs at an average of 50. In this period, he had more centuries than anyone else from Pakistan, was one of the only three batters to average 50, and was one of the mainstays of their batting line up.

Then he had one bad series against Australia and found himself on the bench for the first test against Sri Lanka.

Why?

I have no answer for this, and I hope someone can explain this with some level of reasoning.

For the past 5 years, Shan Masood has been plundering runs in domestic cricket in Pakistan. This year, he did the same in county cricket, which is why there have been many a cry from fans to include him in the playing XI.

Shan has had a start-stop career with Pakistan. Having made his test debut in 2013, he has played test matches every year for Pakistan since then, with the last one in January 2021.

After 25 tests, he has an average under 30. Despite scoring some match winning centuries, he is too inconsistent for Pakistan as an opener.

The last time he was dropped from the team it was after scores of 0,1, 4, 18, 10, 0, 0, 0 across 5 test matches. That is 4 ducks in 8 innings for an opener.

He has had his fair share of international cricket and shown that he is not consistent enough to be a regular Pakistan test opener.

Even when he had a record domestic season in 2018-19 in List A cricket, he was given a run in Pakistan's ODI team and in 5 consecutive ODIs he managed only 111 runs at an average of 22.

While a prolific domestic runs scorer, I am afraid he cannot replace Pakistan's current top order in any format.

How does someone with a first class average of 37 make it to Pakistan's test squad in the first place is beyond me. How he makes it to a starting XI ahead of the likes of Fawad Alam (Test Ave 41, FC Ave 55) and Saud Shakeel (FC Ave 50) is just mind boggling.

The only reason I could think of was that he bowls handy off spin, which would be beneficial against the left handers in Sri Lanka's line up.

But to sacrifice proper test batters for that, I am not too sure.

Are there no good off spinners in Pakistan that they could have, and probably should have, included in the squad?

Or play Nauman Ali instead of one of the pacers. Surely you don't require 3 pacers at Galle.

Yes, Pakistan won the test, but the team selection was far from ideal.

With the next test also in Galle, I think Pakistan should put things right and bring back Fawad Alam in place of Agha Salman, and also bring in Nauman Ali in place of either one of the three pacers that played the first test.

There is also no doubt that Babar is also the best batter in the world across formats. He is the only batter ranked in the top 4 of each format.

I have no doubt that Babar Azam will become the first batter in the world to be ranked 1 in each of the three formats at the same time!

Virat Kohli, Ricky Ponting, and Matthew Hayden are the only ones who have achieved the number 1 ranking in each format; however none of them have held that ranking at the same time.

Babar soon will. You wait and watch.

Besides being a great batsman, Babar is also an impeccable captain. He has grown in stature with every game over the past two years, and he is fast becoming one of the best captains in the game.

Under Babar, Pakistan currently have a win percentage of over 60% in each of the three formats. They have pulled off some amazing victories during this time in T20Is, in ODIs, and even in Tests. The team has a new found belief under him and one can only imagine the great heights this team can reach.

Among the current crop of Test captains, Babar has the second best W:L ratio, behind only Pat Cummins. And his win percentage of 66.7% is behind only that of Ben Stokes and Dean Elgar.

Babar is also one of the only two Test captains in the past 2 years who are averaging over 50 with the bat.

In ODIs, Babar sits second on the list of captains with the best W:L ratio and win percentage, behind Rohit Sharma.

As a batter, Babar has been phenomenal in ODIs. He has the most runs, highest average, highest strike rate, and most centuries as captain in ODIs since the start of 2020.

His average of 83.3 as captain is miles ahead of the next best.

That strike rate of 101.7 is a slap on so many faces, I can't even begin to count.

Even in T20Is, Babar sits second in the list behind Rohit Sharma in terms of W:L ratio.

As a captain in T20Is, Babar also dominates the T20I runs tally over the past 3 years with almost 300 more runs than the next best - Aaron Finch. He also has the second best average among captains, behind Kohli, and has the most number of 50s as captain - more than double of the next best.

A true white ball maestro, Babar's career is moving rapidly towards greatness. He is ruling in all three formats as a captain and as a batter. To think that he has at least another decade of cricket left in him, one can't even begin to imagine where he will end up if he keeps continuing in the same vein.

We have not had a Pakistan team in a while that has been in the running for all three ICC trophies - the WTC, T20 WC, and the ODI WC. 

At least one of those will be in Pakistan's hands before the end of 2023.

If anyone can make it happen, it is the current best cricketer in the world - the one Babar Azam!

Abdullah Shafique's unbeaten 160 off 408 deliveries was a monumental effort that led Pakistan to their second highest run chase ever in Test cricket.

His 160* in a successful chase in the 4th innings of a test is:

- The eighth highest score by a batter.

- The third highest in Asia.

- The third highest by an opener.

- The second highest by a Pakistan batter.

- The second highest against Sri Lanka.

- The highest at Galle.

- The highest by a Pakistan opener.

In his short test career, Shafique has already played two epic fourth innings knocks:

- The 96 off 305 deliveries in Karachi that helped Pakistan save the test against Australia.

- Today's 160* to secure a historic win for Pakistan.

Shafique also became only the 5th batter in the history of test cricket to face over 400 deliveries in the fourth innings of a Test. He faced a total of 408 deliveries, which is the second highest number of deliveries faced in the 4th innings during a successful run chase.

And the first ever batter in the history of test cricket to bat for over 500 minutes in the 4th innings of a test in a successful run chase! He batted for 524 minutes, which is also the third longest innings by minutes in the 4th innings of a test.

His current test batting average of 80.00 is behind only Sir Donald Bradman's average.

He has accumulated 720 runs in his first 6 Tests. Only Sunil Gavaskar, Sir Don Bradman, and George Headley scored more than this in their first 6 Tests.

It has been a while since Pakistan had a consistent opener in Test cricket so about time we have found the Real Deal in Abdullah Shafique.

May he have a long and prosperous career and break many more records!

They have turned a corner and have the kind of belief in themselves that past Pakistan teams have not had.

For three decades Pakistan fans have been scarred by many a chase in Tests and ODIs where they have looked like winning the match, only to falter during the final lap.

Not this Pakistan team!

While the team seems to have moved forward from the scars of the past; for Pakistan fans it will take time for these scars to heal. We are probably the most nervous cricket fans in the world. Anyone will favor the team that requires 50 odd runs to win with 6 wickets in hand. Not Pakistani fans though!

I think it is time for us fans to start believing in this team as well. Us fan should also have the kind of belief that Babar has instilled in his players.

Babar's overall record as captain across formats is extremely impressive. He has a win percentage of over 60% in all three formats.

What is even more impressive is Pakistan's record under Babar while chasing totals. No other Pakistan team has looked as comfortable as this one while chasing totals.

Yes there have been impressive run chases in the past, especially the ones in Tests against Sri Lanka in 2014 and 2015, which were Pakistan's only two successful run chases of targets above 300. 

But those were one-off.

Babar Azam's team has pulled off record run chases in each of the three formats in the past 1 year!

It all started in April 2021 when Pakistan chased down 188 against South Africa in Johannesburg. It was their highest successful chase in T20Is.

That record remained intact for just 3 days as Pakistan easily chased down a record target of 204 in only 18 overs, while losing only 1 wicket, against South Africa at Centurion.

8 months later, Pakistan were at it again successfully chasing down 208 against the West Indies in Karachi; again easily winning by 7 wickets with 7 deliveries to spare.

Pakistan created 3 T20I records within a year!

In March of this year, Pakistan broke the record of their highest ever successful chase in ODIs when they chased down Australia's 348 and won the match by 6 wickets with an over to spare.

Today, Pakistan completed a successful chase of their second highest total in Tests - 342. This is the highest ever total chased at Galle, the fourth highest ever chased in Sri Lanka and the second highest ever chased against Sri Lanka.

This Pakistan team has been breaking record after record, and it is just starting off. We are only in the second year of Babar Azam's captaincy and his team has reached unprecedented heights.

The best part about these chases is that they have been completed confidently, without many stutters. There haven't been nervy last wicket scrapes. Just pure confident batting, pure confident chasing.

Babar has grown in stature with every passing day.

From being the best white ball batsman in the world, he is today the best batsman in the world across formats, and well on his way to being the best cricket captain in the world too!

Under Babar, Pakistan is a force to reckon with.

I do not even remember the last time Pakistan were this consistent across formats.

And I hope that soon there comes a time where I remember only this Pakistan. The world beating Pakistan!

In the past three years, from July 2019 to July 2022, Babar has been the best in the world when it comes to Test Cricket. While he has the 6th most runs in test cricket in this period, he has the highest average in this format. If Pakistan got to play as many Tests as England, India, or Australia, you know where he would be in this list.

Nevertheless, that average of 62 is right up there and unmatched at the moment, and whether there is a Fab 4 or a Fab 5 or a Fab anything, Babar is right at the top of that Fab list!

There is no doubt about Babar being the best ODI batsman in the world. He is the second highest run scorer in ODIs in this three year period, and his average of 82 shows how far above and beyond he is than the rest of the pack. No one has scored as many ODI tons as Babar has in this time, and the next best average is 27 runs away!

Is there a Fab list in ODIs or is he the only Fab ONE?

In T20Is, there is no one who has been as consistent as Babar has, barring Virat Kohli over the years and Mohammad Rizwan last year. In this 3 year period, Babar is the second highest run scorer, has the third best average, and the most number of 50s. 

He is by far the best white ball batsman at the moment. No wonder the ICC also ranks him at the top in both formats.

Whether it is number of runs, average, strike rate (that slaps a lot of faces), centuries, or fifties, Babar is at the top of every list across formats in international cricket over the past 3 years.

He is the only batsman in the world who is ranked in the top 5 for each format. He tops the list for two of those formats. 

They were like mini world cups. Pakistan and India did not tour each other back then either. But they would frequently play in Sharjah as part of an AustralAsia Cup, a Rothmans Trophy, a Sharjah Cup, a Sharjah Champions Trophy.

Besides the two multination ODI series in Sharjah every year, there was also the annual World Series of Cricket played in Australia (aka Carlton & United Series, CB Series, VB series, etc.), which involved three teams compete for the trophy.

Besides Australia, the likes of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and England also hosted multination ODI tournaments in that era.

Even unlikely venues like Toronto, Singapore, Malaysia, and Kenya hosted multination ODI tournaments in the 90s.

Those were the best days of ODI cricket!

That is when ODI cricket was exciting. In between world cups, we got to watch the big teams play mini tournaments. ODIs had some context.

With the advent of T20 cricket, the significance of ODIs has diminished significantly. 

Let alone the fact that T20 leagues take up most of the cricket calendar; the biggest problem is the fanbase. ODI cricket is not exciting any more.

When you can watch a more exciting brand of cricket that produces a result in three and a half hours, why would you sit in front of the TV for 8 hours? 

I am a cricket nut. I used to watch every single delivery of an ODI. I still do when it is the World Cup or the Champions Trophy. But bilateral ODI cricket, I just cannot watch. 

I prefer a T20 match, league or international, over an ODI any day.

And that is really the future.

ODI cricket is dying in my view.

Unless multination ODI tournaments are brought back, ODI cricket will be in the grave very soon.

I see the future with only two formats: Tests and T20s.

Test cricket is still very exciting and creates some very interesting battles over 5 days. However, when it comes to limited overs cricket, the T20 format is killing ODIs.

And that is ok in my view.

We all need to evolve.

Cricket is no different.

Year round T20 leagues, a T20 World Cup every two years, bilateral test tours, and a World Test Championship every two years sounds like a great future for cricket.

With the amount of talent available in some nations, and the ability of others to develop talent pools, I will not be surprised if the T20 and Test calendars ran simultaneously.

Teams like England and India are already doing this where their red ball and white ball teams are involved in international tours at the same time.

Let each country have their T20 league. Let T20 cricketers participate in whatever league they want. Limit bilateral tours for T20 cricket. Maybe have 1 or 2 of them just before the T20 World Cup to fine tune the national teams.

Let Test cricket run in parallel.

T20 cricket is the way forward for associate nations also. The likes of Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands, UAE, and even frontier markets where cricket wants to expand like the USA and China have greater potential to compete in the T20 format, relative to ODIs or Tests.

Let cricket expand through T20 leagues and T20 World Cups.

I have not seen the exact numbers, but I believe the number of ODIs played every year has reduced drastically every year over the past decade.

South Africa have already cancelled an ODI tour to Australia in January 2023 due to it clashing with their new T20 league!

Who even watches bilateral ODIs now?

I think the 2023 ODI World Cup should be the last one. Let ODIs die and let cricket live through T20s and Tests.

It will ease scheduling concerns as well.

We literally have a T20 league running 365 days a year. 

The BBL, UAE T20 and the new SA league in January, the PSL in February-March, the IPL in April - May, ECB's League and The 100 in June-July, the CPL in August, and back to the BBL and UAE T20 in December.

If these leagues want the best white ball players available, then where will they find the time to play ODIs?

Players should not be put in this difficult position at all.

The September-October-November window with no T20 leagues should be left for nations to play a couple of bilateral international T20 series, followed by the T20 World Cup.

This gives you a year-round T20 Cricket calendar, which sounds extremely exciting!

At the same time, test tours can continue simultaneously since the test teams will be built around completely different talent pools.

In my mind and on paper, this all sounds like a fabulous way forward for cricket.

Now over to the ICC and the cricket boards to implement it!

I believe it is more media hype than anything else really.

Yes he is no longer the India Cricket Captain. But who is?

Rohit Sharma? He has barely played any cricket since being announced India's all format captain.

KL Rahul? Where has he been?

Hardik Pandya? Surely a current favorite following his team's IPL triumph.

Rishabh Pant? Yes, they handed him the captaincy too!

Shikhar Dhawan? He has found it tough to find a place in India's first XI, but he too captained on a tour.

Ajinkya Rahane? He was Kohli's deputy some time ago, but now finds himself on the bench.

Jasprit Bumrah? He's leading in the current test against England, while the above mentioned (barring Pant) are absent.

That is 8 captains including Kohli in the last 1 year! Absurd.

Ok so Kohli is no longer captain and he is no longer the #1 ranked batsman either in ODIs, nor in T20Is.

But is he really finished?

There is no doubt that Kohli's performance has gone down several levels over the past two years.

The level he was at for almost a decade across formats is a level that no other batsman has ever been at. He will likely never be at that same level again.

But he is also not over and done with the way Indian journalists will have you believe.

Look at his performance in T20 Internationals over the past two and a half years. No one from India comes even close to his level of consistency.

He is a clear 5 runs ahead in average than the next best batsman; and a good 10 runs ahead of everyone else from India!

You can take a look at all batsmen in T20 Internationals, and you will realize that only Mohammad Rizwan and Jos Buttler average more than Kohli does in the format during this period.

In ODIs, his performance has dipped a bit more. He is averaging 20 runs less than his career average during this 2.5 year period, yet he is still the third highest run scorer for India in this time.

Yes, he hasn't scored any ODI hundreds during these 2.5 years, but no other Indian batsman has also scored as many fifties as Kohli has.

The fact that he has played more ODIs than any other Indian batsmen during this period goes to show his level of fitness, dedication, and commitment, which in my view is unmatchable.

The Sharmas and Rahuls are not even close, nor will they ever be, to what Kohli has done for Indian cricket, and continues to do. 

Test cricket is where the real problem is. Kohli's form in tests has really deteriorated over the past two years. His test average during this period is below 30 and for the first time in almost a decade his career test average has dipped below 50.

But has anyone taken a look at the other Indian batsmen around him?

Barring Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, no India batsman averages above 40 in tests in the past 2.5 years. 

I guess playing and touring in bubbles has taken its toll on everyone, not only Kohli.

Yes, an average of 27 is not what you expect from a world class batsman like Kohli, but don't only target him when talking about failures. Talk about the entire Indian brittle batting line up, which is being constantly saved by the likes of Pant and Jadeja.

There is also this hype about 120 odd innings across formats without scoring a 100.

What a heap of bullshit!

What 120 innings?

Leave aside the T20 format where no one scores 100s consistently (unless you are Jos Buttler), the last time Kohli scored a 100 in an ODI was 21 innings ago, and the last time he did it in tests was 32 innings ago.

Yes 52 innings / 2 years is a long time to go without scoring a century, especially when you are Virat Kohli who the world saw knock a century every other day. But Kohli is not alone.

Steve Smith hasn't scored a 100 in a while. It has been quite some time for Kane Williamson too. I don't see the media down under shredding them to pieces!

Kohli has been a champion batsman for way too long, and in white ball cricket he still is. He definitely does not deserve the criticism coming his way at the moment.

So what if Babar Azam is currently better than him in ODIs and T20Is? So what if Joe Root is now scoring like the run machine Kohli once was in Tests? So what if Kohli is no longer captaining India?

He is still one of the best in the business. Definitely the fittest batsman in world cricket. And more dedicated and committed than any other cricketer you will find in India.

Kohli may no longer be King, but he still is a Champion!

Even in T20 Internationals during this period, they have the second best W:L ratio among the full nations.

Pakistan's batsmen have been in tremendous form in both white ball formats during this period, especially Babar Azam, the world's best batsman currently.

Babar is the second highest run scorer in ODIs in this period, and his average is miles ahead of the rest. He has also knocked 7 ODI centuries in this time, more than any other batsman. Imam is also among the top 10 run scorers in this period.

Babar has dominated in T20 Internationals too during this period, but it is his opening partner who takes the batting honors with the most T20I runs and by far the best average in this format.

Babar and Rizwan are also two of the three batsmen who have scored a T20I hundred in this period.

What has worked for Pakistan is that these batsmen have batted well in pairs. Its rarely a one man show and always a spectacle when you have Babar & Imam batting together in ODIs or Babar & Rizwan putting on a show in T20Is.

Look at Babar and Imam's partnership average in ODIs over the past 3 years!

And look at the number of century stands Babar and Rizwan have put on in T20 Internationals in this period!

Pakistan's rise in ODIs and T20Is could not have been better timed given the three upcoming white ball World Cups over the next three years.

The T20 World Cup gets underway in 3 months.

There is an ODI World Cup in 2023.

And another T20 World Cup in 2024.

Sure the Pakistan fans would like to see them win all three World Cups, but then lets be realistic; it is Pakistan we are talking about, not Australia!

But I tell you what. At least one of those trophies has Pakistan written on it.

If Pakistan does not win at least one of these World Cups, then all this white ball form, the team rankings, the batsmen rankings, the partnership runs, this unparalleled success will all mean for nothing.

This resurgence needs to be topped with an ICC Trophy (or two) in the next 2 years.

It is not beyond reach, and if any Pakistan can do it, it is Babar Azam's Pakistan!