Can Babar Azam steer Pakistan to the T20 World Cup title?
The captain has been Pakistan's most dependable anchor through management changes and team reshuffles, but is that enough?
"If we've started well, it's not in my nature to think I should hold myself back" Getty Images
It's the monsoon in Lahore, sweeping rain washing down the red brick of the Gaddafi Stadium complex. The drainage system, ill equipped to handle what the monsoon unleashes in this part of Pakistan, has long given up, water spilling back out onto the streets just outside the PCB's offices in the complex. Still, the place is packed with journalists and TV reporters, because in an intimate little room nestled behind the open-plan office space, Pakistan's T20 captain will spare a few minutes for a chat with the media.
The room was obviously never built to house a dozen TV cameras, and so, instead of sitting at the head of the conference table, the biggest name in Pakistan cricket stands in a corner as questions are breathlessly volleyed at him. He repeats the usual platitudes about players needing to do their best, emphasises the importance of coping with pressure, and - bless him - expresses satisfaction that New Zealand and England are coming to Pakistan to play seven T20Is ahead of the World Cup.
Babar Azam isn't exactly the most engaging speaker, especially not in a crowd. Every word of his is scrutinised and sensationalised by the fans and the media, so being predictably dull is a rather useful skill to possess.
Once it's all done and everyone begins to filter out, Babar sits down for an interview with ESPNcricinfo. Pakistan have only recently returned from the West Indies, where they have
split a two-match Test series, and the focus is now fully on the T20 World Cup. Every bit of preparation is geared towards that tournament, one that, had it followed its regular cycle of being held every two years, Pakistan would have been overwhelming favourites for.
In recent years, however, that dominance has evaporated, the dip in results faithfully aligning alongside a coaching change Pakistan made following the 2019 ODI World Cup. In three years under former head coach Mickey Arthur, Pakistan
won 30 of 37 T20Is. Since his successor Misbah-ul-Haq came in, Pakistan
won just 16 of 34, and slipped to No. 3 in the T20I rankings. Babar acknowledges the change had an effect - something that will undoubtedly concern Pakistan given they have had
yet another change of coaches since he spoke. But he also insists the full picture is more nuanced.