SA vs PAK, 1st Test: Retirement calls get louder for Babar Azam after Pakistan batter goes 19 innings without a fifty

Fans fumed at Babar Azam on social media after the former Pakistan captain departed for just four off 11 balls in the first Test against South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday. For the record, it was Babar’s 19th Test innings without a single half-century.

Babar, who was dropped from Pakistan squad for the second and third Tests against England at home, came in after the fall of captain Shan Masood in the 15th over.

However, his stay in the middle lasted less that two overs before the right-hander edged a widish Dane Paterson delivery to Aiden Markram at the third slip. The last time Babar scored either a fifty or a hundred in Tests was in 2022 against New Zealand in Karachi.

He had scored 161 in that game which ended in a draw. Regarded as one of the best batters in cricket at the moment, Babar’s lean patch with the bat didn’t go well with his fans, with some calling him a “burden in the team.” “He should retire. Taking the place of youngsters. He’s burden on the team,” one user wrote.

“On What basis he got selected again? Typical pakistan selection committee, they are the biggest joke. They selected him in South African conditions,” wrote another. Hopes were high on Babar after he scored consecutive fifties in the ODI series against South Africa which Pakistan won 3-0.

But his flop show with the bat earned backlash once again. “He can’t play test cricket man. He is the only king on papers not in the field,” another user wrote.

At the time of writing this piece, Pakistan were 179/6 in 48 overs with Kamran Ghulam top-scoring with 54.

Babar Azam joins Virat kohli, Rohit Sharma

Despite a bat day at the office, Babar joined Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in an elite list of batters with 4000 runs in all three formats of the game. Starting the day with 3997 runs in 101 innings, Babar flicked Corbin Bosch on the first ball he faced for a four to become the first Pakistan batter to reach the feat. Babar already has 5957 ODI runs in 123 matches and 4223 T20I runs in 128 matches.