This season of the Big Bash League has been a sobering exercise for three of Pakistan’s marquee cricketers. Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi arrived in Australia armed with heavyweight reputations and vast T20 expertise but what followed instead has been a humbling experience.
Rizwan and Shaheen endured their blushes earlier in the tournament. On Friday, it was Babar’s turn to join the club.
The match itself provided its fair share of fireworks but one particular 10-minute stretch stood out amid the intense scrutiny the Pakistan stars have faced on social media.
Chasing 189 against the Sydney Thunder, Sydney Sixers openers Babar and Steven Smith had raced to 109 in 10.5 overs when the final ball of the 11th over produced a moment that neatly summed up Babar’s BBL campaign.
Smith, in destructive mood and unbeaten on a blistering 28-ball 58, watched Babar -- working his way along at the other end with a steady 37-ball 47 -- drive the ball to long-on. An easy single was on offer, and taking it would have kept Babar on strike. Smith, however, wanted none of it.
In a move dripping with intent, Smith outright refused the run, effectively signalling that the chase demanded a different gear. The logic was simple. Smith backed himself to do the damage and immediately doubled down by opting for the Power Surge -- a two-over batting powerplay introduced after the 10th over, allowing only two fielders outside the inner circle.
What followed was absolute carnage. Smith launched pacer Ryan Hadley for 32 runs -- the most expensive over in BBL history -- smashing four consecutive sixes before rounding it off with a four.
Babar, meanwhile, was left to watch. When he finally got his chance again, it lasted just one delivery. He chopped on off the first ball of the 12th over and departed furious, smashing his bat against the boundary advertising hoardings. His contribution to the 141-run opening stand was a painstaking 39-ball 47.
Smith, however, went on to complete a century in just 41 balls and set up a five-wicket win for the Sixers with 16 deliveries to spare, eventually finishing with a 42-ball 100 that included nine sixes and five fours.
Smith’s decision to back himself over Babar was hardly rooted in just self-belief but rather reflective of his habit of playing within himself.
Babar -- the all-time leading run-scorer in T20 internationals -- has long struggled to shift gears and up the ante. Across nine matches this season, he has scored 201 runs at a lowly strike rate of just 107.48. While two half-centuries have made him his side’s second-highest run-getter, the numbers underline a familiar issue, one that previously pushed him out of Pakistan’s T20I side despite his impressive aggregate.
If Babar’s campaign has been underwhelming, Rizwan’s has bordered on uncomfortable.
The wicketkeeper-batter became the centre of a social media storm after being retired out by the Melbourne Renegades against the Sydney Thunder on Monday. While tactical retirements are no longer rare in franchise cricket, Rizwan became the first overseas player in BBL history to be sent back mid-innings. His struggles were evident -- a laborious 26 off 23 balls before he was put out of his misery.
In nine matches so far, Rizwan has scored 170 runs at a strike rate of 101.19. Even the commentators backed the move, with one remarking, “I think this is a really good move, maybe could have happened an over or two earlier.”
Back home, the reaction was, well, reactionary. Several former Pakistan players urged Rizwan to abandon the tournament altogether and return home. But just like Babar's plight, the problem is not quite a geographical one. Both batters are understood to have lost their T20 mojo and find themselves out of Pakistan's T20I plans.
Shaheen’s initiation into the Big Bash had been no kinder. On his BBL debut for Brisbane Heat against Melbourne Renegades in Geelong last month, Pakistan’s ODI captain endured a night to forget.
In the 18th over of the Renegades’ innings, Afridi bowled two waist-high full tosses -- one each to Tim Seifert and Ollie Peake -- prompting the umpires to remove him from the attack for dangerous bowling.
As Heat captain Nathan McSweeney was forced to bowl the final two deliveries of the over, Afridi could only manage a helpless grin. His figures read a grim 0 for 43 off 2.4 overs, including three no-balls and two wides.
Afridi’s evening began with a nine-run first over, wide included. He returned in the 13th over and conceded two fours and a six before an eventful third spell -- the 18th -- sealed his fate. Ollie Peake greeted him with a maximum, Seifert reached his century off a beamer, and although Afridi briefly regained control with a yorker, another no-ball followed. A second beamer in the same over ensured his night ended prematurely.
McSweeney conceded five more runs off the remaining deliveries, leaving Afridi as his side’s most expensive bowler. A knee injury later cut his stint short, with the Pakistan Cricket Board calling him back on December 30. In four matches, the left-arm pacer managed just two wickets at an economy rate of 11.19.
For three of Pakistan’s biggest T20 names, the Big Bash has so far been less a showcase and more a reality check -- one that showcases how reputations can count for very little in the fast-moving world of T20 cricket.
