Ought to Pakistan cricketers be allowed to play in IPL 2025, there could also be some franchises who can use the experience of the “premium” batter
Babar Azam’s expertise in the shortest format of the game could come of use to many IPL teams, should Pakistan cricketers be allowed to participate in the tournament. Pakistan players were last part of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League following which geopolitical tension between India and Pakistan has forced the former to ban the participation of the latter’s stars in the league. With 4145 runs from 123 T20Is and 10942 runs in T20s, Babar Azam is easily one of the talents who could excel in IPL.
Which team will Babar Azam be in if he plays in IPL 2025
There are two teams that might look to acquire the services of the former Pakistan skipper, should he play in IPL 2025 if at all. Let’s take a hypothetical situation where Babar Azam‘s participation is confirmed and he will be going under the hammer along with a pool of talents. One team that will benefit from Azam will be Punjab Kings.
With Shikhar Dhawan having retired, the current squad in the side does not boast of a veteran, especially a player from the sub-continent. Who better than Babar Azam to fill in those shoes! The Pakistan star has the ability to shuffle and excel across the top-order, having played at the number three batter or the opener in his career so far. Azam has scored the most number of runs while batting at number 2 – 2359 runs which includes a century and his highest score (122). At number 3, he has 1132 runs to his name, although with a better average of 47.16. In Pakistan Super League (PSL), the country’s own IPL, Babar Azam has 3504 runs from 90 matches and averages 45.50.
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Despite Babar Azam possessing the technique that makes him a world class batter, he is lesser suited for T20Is. His inability to accelerate and fail when he tries to do so makes him a liability for any team. However, on days when he fires, he goes all guns blazing and that has what had ensured his consistency in the top ranked T20 batters over the last few years. With the IPL 2025 mega auction coming up, teams will be looking to hit a fresh start and build a fresh squad. Babar Azam, if allowed to play in IPL, could be one of the valuable additions.
Babar Azam in PBKS
It remains to be seen how Punjab Kings will shape up their squad at the upcoming auction. In IPL 2024, PBKS had Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow as the openers while Prabhsimran Singh came in at number 3. While Singh lived up to his reputation of being a destructive batter, the team will now have to look for a fresh set of openers, given that Bairstow is unlikely to be retained and Dhawan’s stint has come to an end. Babar Azam could be one overseas star who could fill in those shoes for PBKS. Additionally, Babar Azam can also captain the side efficiently.
Babar Azam in DC
Another team that might be interested to have Babar Azam in their XI is Delhi Capitals. The team once. The team lacks n overseas batter who is better suited to bat at the number three position. The team has a solid set of openers in the form of Prithvi Shaw and Jake-Fraser McGurk/David Warner. Next, there’s Rishabh Pant, Mitchell Marsh and Tristian Stubbs to add to the star power along with Abhishek Porel, Ricky Bhui and Yash Dhull. None of the overseas stars mentioned above have the experience and expertise of playing at the number three position in comparison to Babar Azam. This is one area where DC can count on the Pakistan star to deliver. On the contrary, Babar Azam’s style of playing slow-paced “classical” knocks in T20Is might make DC want to have to do nothing with him. And it might very well be the case with other franchises as well, who are or will be better off with batters who are more dependable on than Babar Azam.
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