With over 1,000 ODI runs, 5 ODI centuries in 25 innings, an average of 56.78, and a strike rate of 90.50 - at the age of 22 - I think extremely special.

BEST EVER ODI AVERAGE

That average of 56.78 is the second best average ever in ODI cricket; and if you exclude associate nations, then Babar Azam currently has the best ever ODI average of all time.

Among these 10 batsmen with the best ODI averages of all time, Babar has the third best strike rate, behind the magnificent AB de Villiers and very marginally behind the great Virat Kohli.

For Babar to be spoken of in the same breath as ABD and Kohli, he will have to sustain this performance and average for at least another 100 ODIs.

With the start he has achieved, I do not have any doubts that in about 5 years time, Babar's ODI record will be very similar to that of ABD, Kohli, and Amla.

PHENOMENAL AT NUMBER 3

Out of his 25 ODI innings, Babar has played nine at number three and all of his 5 ODI centuries have come from that position.

Why Pakistan even bothers to change his batting order around is beyond me.

He has been phenomenal at number 3. His average of 95.62 at number 3 is the current best ODI average ever from that position.

Among the 10 batsmen with the best ODI averages at number 3, only ABD and MS Dhoni have a better strike rate than Babar Azam's.

I'll say it again that in order to be considered one of the best alongside Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and other star performers at number 3 in ODIs, Babar will have to sustain this performance for another 30-40 odd ODIs.

Pakistan's team management will have to play its part though, by sustaining with him at number 3.

BEST SRIKE RATE EVER FOR PAKISTAN

There are only two batsmen in all of Pakistan who have a better strike rate than Babar Azam in ODIs - the one and only, Shahid Afridi, and the one who may never play again, Sharjeel Khan.

Never has Pakistan had a batsman like Babar, who scores freely and consistently. Not since Zaheer Abbas, Saeed Anwar, and a young Inzamam Ul Haq anyway.

But even those names (besides Zaheer Abbas) do not feature in the top 10 batting strike rates for Pakistan.

Since the start of 2010, Mohammad Hafeez has been Pakistan's most successful opener in ODIs. He has the most runs, the second best average (after Azhar Ali), and the second most 100s (after Ahmed Shehzad.


Based on this, Hafeez' inclusion in the side is a nobrainer. He should be opening for Pakistan if fit, no question about it.

And if you are going to question his ability outside Asia, then I guess do the same for the rest. Compare him to his peers, not Australians or Indians.

Having said that, Hafeez played only 4 ODIs in all of 2016, a year where Azhar Ali and Sharjeel Khan cemented their positions at the top of the order for Pakistan in ODIs.


Hafeez batted at number 3 in his 4 innings in 2016, something that he has done for some time now, and he has excelled at the position as well. He has been more successful at number 3 than while opening the innings in ODIs.

And in fact, Hafeez has been the most successful number 3 Pakistan has had in ODIs since 2010.


But the problem is, how can he come back into that position given what the fourth name in the above list achieved in the last ODI series Pakistan played.

Babar Azam's 3 consecutive centuries against the West Indies was a tremendous effort and it will be criminal to ask him to bat anywhere else.

So if Hafeez does not fit into the top 3, where does he fit?

With him bowling again his presence will be invaluable to the team, especially in the shorter formats; however the team management will need to rethink their strategy regarding his batting order.

With Azhar, Sharjeel, and Babar occupying the top 3 spots, my bet is that Hafeez will be utilized in the lower middle order. His aggression can be best suited to the latter stages of an innings.

There is no question that Hafeez deserves a place in the ODI squad. The only question is, where will he bat?

Sharjeel Khan's inclusion in Pakistan's test squad for the two match series against New Zealand has met with mixed reactions.

Rightly so given the sort of batsman he is.

My initial thoughts on Sharjeel were that at best he is a T20 batsman. His initial international outing in 2013 also showed that he was best suited for T20s, however he was dropped from both limited overs formats after failing in ODIs.

Following the PSL last year, Sharjeel was drafted back into the T20 and ODI squads. In T20s he continued his striking form, while in ODIs he left plenty to be desired with a number of failures in between some sterling whirlwind knocks.

For me, he remains a great T20 batsman and an average ODI one.

So then why has he been selected for the test squad?

What were the selectors thinking?

Is he the best choice for opener / reserve opener in the test squad?

Sometimes it just feels like the selectors are making a play at a Casino and trying their luck at winning with a new opener.

With Sami Aslam cementing one of the openers slots, it was Azhar Ali's initial hesitancy to open in tests, which resulted in the selectors looking for a third opener for the tour.

Having given it some thought, Sharjeel may not be a bad choice despite his average performances in ODI cricket.

Many have likened Sharjeel's stroke play to that of Virender Sehwag and David Warner, both of whom played ODI cricket for a couple of years before breaking into the test squad. All three are quite similar in terms of how they approach batting.

A glance at Sehwag's and Warner's careers shows that they had / have far better performances in Tests than in ODIs. While Warner has closed the average gap in recent times (48 in tests; 41 in ODIs), Sehwag ended his career with a Test average of 49 and an ODI average of 35.

Even thought both batsmen have the aggressive nature to excel in ODIs and T20s, they were far more prolific in Tests than in the limited overs formats.

A look at their ODI performance before either made their test debut bears a lot of similarity with Sharjeel's performance.

Pakistan's limited overs cricket has been lethargic and old fashioned for a long while now. Since the highs of reaching the semi final of the World Cup in 2011 and the subsequent dumping of Shahid Afridi as captain, Pakistan's ODI and T20 cricket has been quite abysmal.

For 5 years, the men in Green have not been able to keep up with the demands of modern day white ball cricket.

The result of all that has led them languishing at number 9 and number 7 respectively in ICC's ODI and T20 rankings.

When a team with that sort of sketchy history does what it did in the 5th ODI at Cardiff and then in the T20 at Manchester last night, it is nothing short of mesmerizing.

First, a successful chase of 300 for the first time outside Asia and the first time against a non Asian team.

Then, a dominating performance to register their largest ever win in a T20 international.

The last two matches have got to be Pakistan's best performances in white ball cricket in about half a decade.

It was pulsating to watch Sharjeel and Khalid Latif slay into England's bowlers. For a while they only dealt in boundaries and made it all look too easy.


The 73 runs that Sharjeel and Khalid plundered in the power play is Pakistan's highest ever score inside 6 overs in T20s.

When they managed a 100 runs between themselves by the 10th over of the innings, it was only the second time that Pakistan's openers had reached three figures at the half way mark in a T20. The last time it was Mukhtar Ahmed and Ahmed Shehzad's brutal assault on Zimbabwe in Lahore last year.

Sharjeel and Khalid's onslaught was so good that it reminded me of Ijaz Ahmed and Shahid Afridi against India in Lahore (1997) and Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir against South Africa in Sharjah (2000).

It was a great victory last night to cap a memorable summer in England.

With a drawn test series, Pakistan's first in England in 15 years, and a T20 win, we can safely say that the tour was an overall success despite the thrashing in the ODIs.

The best part ofcourse is the fact that there absolutely no controversy on this tour.

Pakistan did not give the British Tabloids any sound bytes whatsoever and that is probably the biggest achievement of this tour.

Over the last few days Pakistan have shown the world that they can play modern day limited overs cricket. These are surely positive signs for the future, which has plenty to look forward to with the West Indies coming to UAE and then Pakistan traveling to New Zealand and Australia.

Sharjeel, who had smashed 61 runs off 33 deliveries against the Leopards two days ago, gave the Hawks another flying start today with a brutal knock of 74 runs of a mere 41 deliveries. Sharjeel's innings included 6 sixes and 5 boundaries.

No other Hawks' batsman could contribute substantially resulting in the Stallions notching up their first victory in the tournament with a 33 run win.

The Stallions scored 183 off their 20 overs with decent contributions from Imran Nazir (20), Shoaib Malik (39), Mansoor Amjad (39), and Shahid Yousuf (48).

The Hawks were bowled out for 150.

The 21 year old opener smashed 5 sixes and 5 fours to give the Hawks a flying start that set the platform for their win.

Sharjeel made his First Class debut for Hyderabad in 2009 and in 19 first class games has already notched up 4 centuries in addition to 2 centuries in 12 List A games.

Batting first, the Leopards scored 164 before they were bowled out in the final over of their innings. The Hawks reached their target with 5 balls to spare.