'Master' Babar shows why franchises incline towards quality

Babar Azam had only arrived in the country on the eve of his side Rangpur Riders' match against Sylhet Strikers yesterday. However, in his first appearance in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the former Pakistan captain neither showed any sign of traveling tiredness nor did he let Rangpur feel the absence of Shakib Al Hasan.

The 29-year-old batting maestro also demonstrated why franchises seek such high-quality cricketers in T20 leagues. Players like Babar provide the type of quality that franchises can bank upon, simply because they know just how to provide.

In the match, Rangpur were in sixes and sevens in chase of a meagre Sylhet score of 120 for eight. Once Rony Talukdar fell, a collapse soon ensued as Rangpur slumped to 39 for six in seven overs with Babar helplessly watching from the other end.

From then on, Babar, who had opened the innings with Rony, shared the burden of staging a recovery act along with Azmatullah Omarzai. The duo produced an 86-run stand off 68 deliveries as Rangpur romped to a win without losing any more wickets and with 10 balls in the bank.

Rangpur Riders batters Babar Azam and Azmatullah Omarzai during their match-winning partnership against Sylhet Strikers on January 23, 2023. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Having struck four fifties in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against hosts New Zealand, the in-form batter showed why Rangpur have spent big bucks to secure his services. Babar had promised to deliver and he went on to do that in typical Babar Azam fashion.

"Well very long flight and I had to take two flights to reach here before taking some rest. Preparing myself for the match and looking forward to the match. The expectation is always high when we are playing. I will try my best to win this match," Babar said before the game during an interview with T-Sports yesterday.

Much has been made of the wickets in BPL so far and afternoon games usually are low-scoring affairs. At the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Babar showed his prowess in handling spin, while local players such as Najmul Hossain Shanto, Nurul Hasan or Shamim Hossain failed to apply themselves. Babar said he is well aware of the spin threat in Mirpur.

"I think the biggest challenge here is spin. There are good spin tracks here and everyone here is a quality spinner," he had said when asked about the difference between BPL and other leagues.

"We have played lots of matches here but to be honest I am not going to tell you about the behaviour of the pitch. Every time it's different. Little bit of moisture in it and the first few hours are key," he had said, addressing the nature of the wicket before the game.

With only 14 dots in his innings, Babar was a busy player and was content on rotating strike after Dushan Hemantha wreaked havoc as the Sri Lankan leg-spinner scalped three wickets in a single over.

Opposition captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza felt that the poor score was mostly due to poor batting. While both Ben Cutting and Benny Howell had made important contributions, nothing of note came from Sylhet's local stars either.

"If you look at our foreigners, they play pace well and the way they adapted to spin, we [locals] didn't in the same way. We could have since we are used to playing here," Mashrafe said.

The former Bangladesh captain also felt that it was an "ideal" match for Babar to show how to win.

"He's a master at these kinds of matches. If the score was 140 it would have been difficult. If he couldn't rotate strike it, he would have to play shots and mistakes would happen. He is not the player who would change the game with shots, but we didn't apply the pressure," Mashrafe admitted.

Some of the local players have already shown glimpses of impact but the ability to adapt quickly sets someone like Babar Azam apart.