“Honest conversations” are what Du Plessis think Babar and Hesson need

Pakistan have got plenty of problems right now, but the most pressing is how to make Babar Azam’s skills a better fit for the evolving T20 format. The gulf between the brand of cricket players like Babar play and what the format demands has been widening, to the point where it is now affecting both the batter and Pakistan.

Moving Babar up the order

Pakistan have shifted Babar to the first drop. More recently, he started coming in at the No. 4 spot, a batting position where he had batted only once prior to this year. And against Namibia, two players were promoted ahead of him, giving Babar a rare DNB.

Following the New Zealand washout, Pakistan’s coach Mike Hesson said Babar’s current strike rate does not justify his return to the top spot and that the team would use him post-powerplay. But the question arises, can Pakistan afford to delay Babar’s entry in every game? If the answer is in negation, which it very likely is, what’s the best role that the side has for him?

Babar needs to be shown he has to improve

Former South African batter Faf Du Plessis thinks Babar and coach Mike Hesson need to have ‘honest conversations’ about the entire predicament.

"It starts with honesty," du Plessis said. "That's the groundwork of any conversation that happens. Once you're honest in your conversation [as a coach] then everything flows from that, whereas if you are hopping around and not telling the truth as a coach or a captain, it leads to holes that a player can jump onto. So the nature of the conversation is really important.

"Once the stats are in front of a player, it's difficult to go 'I'm not agreeing with you.' Then as a player, you've got two choices. Either you put up a massive fight and you throw your toys, or you go, 'Okay, I need to get better, I need to improve, and this is an area in my game that I can improve.’”

Babar brings the steadiness that Pakistan need

Dropping someone like Babar, who currently leads the T20I runscorers list, takes an immense amount of courage, and Pakistan might not be ready for that. While an anchor’s spot in a T20I playing XI is more controversial than most things on the planet, mercurial teams like Pakistan, who have an unwanted fondness for collapses, the need for someone who can steady the innings is even greater.

Especially now, when Pakistan have to play their World Cup games in Sri Lanka, where the surfaces notoriously have a lack of affection for batters.

"At this venue and in the specific conditions where there's going to be a lot of spin, there can be a lot of value from someone like him in the middle and making sure that he anchors the innings,” Du Plessis said.

But at the end of the day, beyond this T20 World Cup, the onus of making a case for himself is on Babar himself. That’s what would make Babar go from good to great.

"I think all great players evolve their careers at different points," he said. 

“We have known Babar as one of the world's best players for a long time. I think the game of T20 cricket has moved so fast forward into strike rates that he's found himself a little bit behind in terms of strike rates."

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