Babar Azam’s Record in Asia Cup History

The 16th edition of the Asia Cup is all set to take place in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, starting on 30 August 2023. Pakistan will begin the tournament as the new number-one-ranked ODI team. Hence, all eyes will be on Babar Azam and his men as they look to win this title for the third time in their history.

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However, Babar is the current number-one-ranked batter in ODIs. So, this time, he will look to turn things around as his stats in this tournament have been really poor. Babar has played in two editions; 2018 and 2022. In both editions, he failed to live up to his expectations. Interestingly, in Pakistan, Babar has a staggering ODI average of 72.38 while in Sri Lanka, it is only 30.       

Here is How Babar Azam has Performed so far in the Asia Cup:

Scoring 156 runs, Asia Cup 2018:

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In 2018, the Asia Cup was played in the 50-over format. But, Babar Azam had a disappointing tournament. It was the first time when Babar played in this tournament. In five matches, he scored 156 runs, at an average of 31.20. His highest score was 66 against Afghanistan and it was the only fifty that he has scored so far in the history of this tournament.      

Scoring 68 runs, Asia Cup 2022:

The 2022 Asia Cup was played in the 20-20 format. As a skipper, he led the team to the final but as a batter, Babar Azam failed miserably. It was a forgettable tournament for the Pakistan skipper as he scored 68 runs in six matches, at an average of 11.33. He even failed to score a fifty.   

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Not a single fifty against India: 

Over the last two editions of the Asia Cup, Babar Azam has played four matches against India so far. In 2018, he played two ODIs but scored only 56 runs, at an average of 28. Then, in 2022, he played two T20Is and scored only 24 runs, at an average of 12. He failed to reach the 50-run mark even once so far against arch-rivals.    

Leading Pakistan to the Asia Cup 2022, Final:

Despite having poor records as an individual batter, Babar Azam did a good job when he led the team in the Asia Cup 2022. After losing the first match against India, they qualified for the ‘Super 4’ stage by defeating Hong Kong. Then, in the ‘Super 4’ stage, Babar and his men defeated India and Afghanistan. They lost to Sri Lanka but still, it was enough for them to set a final clash against the Lankans. But, eventually, Sri Lanka won the final.

Also Check: Strongest Playing XI for Pakistan in Asia Cup 2023