Azhar Ali: The Glorious Cockroach of Batting
A tribute to the man who restored the honor of Pakistan's cricket, one slow, boring innings at a time
2 years ago, Ahmar Naqvi, Danyal Rasool, and Osman Samiuddin sat down to select the dream Pakistan Test XI after 1990, and with no surprise, they selected Shahid Khan Afridi over Azhar Ali as an opening partner with Saeed Anwar.
In the words of Ahmar Naqvi: “All my choices are factoring to bring dressing room drama, controversies, media interest, and fan interest, and Azhar is the opposite.”
As Jarrod Kimber said, he is so one-paced that it's hard to love him, sometimes this pace is even non-existent. The T20 influence on cricket doesn't impact Azhar Ali's batting. The type of Test cricket he plays and the slowness in his batting are unlikely to make him a likable batter for a nation like Pakistan where how promising you are is only specified by how entertaining you are.
Azhar is a batsman who can stay on the crease all day, punch spinners on the front foot, and keeps unearthing ways to score runs over after over. That's what defines Azhar Ali for Pakistani cricket fans; they love him as much as the Pakistan Cricket Board loves test cricket.
One part of Azhar that will always be remembered is how good he was as an opener. From 2013-2017, he averaged 55.34 in 29 innings, more than anyone else in that period (minimum of 1000 runs), with a double century at the Gabba on a Boxing Day test, a hundred in Birmingham, and a triple ton in the United Arab Emirates, followed with two hundred in the West Indies. In spite of continuous changes in his batting position, he averaged 54 from 2014-20118.
He scored two 70s during a Pakistan A tour of Australia while batting for more than five hours, propelling his case for an eventual debut against Australia. Azhar made an impact during the fourth innings, scoring his first fifty on a difficult Headingley pitch, to help Pakistan win their only away Test win against Australia in the last 27 years.
Azhar has quite contrasting stats. He scored 10 centuries and 11 fifties in first-class cricket and 10 fifties and with no century in 2012 until his maiden ton against England when Pakistan used to host their home series in the UAE. In 2016, he had 9 hundreds and 20 fifties to his name. A one-pace batter whose career strike rate is 42, he is an excellent personification of grit.
For one, he scored 19 centuries and survived for 13 years, originally starting his career as a leg spinner. A player who continues to change his technique throughout his career and his ability to learn, and adapt and the patience he possesses are what make him so special. Nevertheless, he would have been a wonderful choice for Imran khan's 80s XI, who always chose grit over flamboyance.
Azhar was labeled a player who cannot score against the swinging ball and was clueless against spin early in his career. And yet, he was averaging 43 in his first three years, and from 2014-17 he averaged 60 against pace, slightly better than his spin average in that period.
He has hundreds in England, the West Indies, Sri Lanka and, a double ton in Bangladesh and Australia. A player who built on getting everything he can from each innings he plays, these are insane stats.
Along with a staggering Test career, Azhar also had a good ODI career.
To begin with, he was the fastest Pakistan to score 1000 ODI runs. In 2016, he had the most centuries as Pakistan ODI captain before Babar Azam. He scored three fifties in 5 innings in the 2017 Champions Trophy, including 76 in the semi-final against England, and a 59 in the final against India (in what was the biggest ODI win of the last decade).
Even when T20 cricket started to create an impact on players' test match performances, Azhar remained unaffected by this phenomenon. Azhar was a selfless batter who opened on away tours, gave his #3 position to Babar and Asad Shafiq, and helped Babar and Younas Khan in a way. Younas credited Azhar for shielding him from Australian pacers at one down in 2014 and he saved Babar by playing out the new ball for him.
After MisYou, he was unable to replicate his performance due to a knee injury. A poor schedule and many other factors contributed to his lack of form or poor performance. His average against pace dropped from 60 to 27 in those two years post-MisYou. For a top-order batter, these are simply unacceptable numbers.
But just when people thought it was the end of the road for him, he made a comeback.
From 2020 to the start of 2022 he averaged 49, and he was the third highest runs getter during that period with four centuries including the one where he impressed Brian Lara at the end of his career when Lara said “he didn’t touch the remote during the whole inning.” Lara also said that he “played the best captain’s knock in modern-day cricket.”
Even at the lowest point of his career, he was complimented by Nasser Hussain, “showing England players how to bat in England” (Pakistan vs England Lord’s 2018). And how can someone forget his 302 in a chase, making a comeback in the team, and scoring his all-timer knock in a must-win game?
Azhar went on to play for the wrong country, a country where centuries scored only in winning causes are considered impactful, a country where playing out a new ball is of no importance, a country where fans prefer T20 over Tests, a country where PCB isn’t serious about Test cricket. A country where he didn’t get the deserved respect even after averaging 100 plus balls per dismissal more than his contemporaries Cheteshwar Pujara and Kane Williamson, and a country that hardly plays 3 matches overseas test series.
Azhar Ali is a rare Pakistani player who is beyond the controversies, a true gentleman, and of the bunch of players who saved Pakistan after the humiliation of 2010, and then they taught every youngster every good thing they had.
A Pakistan team of the late 2000s was shrouded with spot-fixing, captaincy changes, and dressing room controversies. Pakistan had every worst thing happen to them during that period to become the #1 Test team, developing a positive culture in the team. Azhar had a huge role to play and he played it brilliantly.
Azhar was rarely loved and adored when he was representing Pakistan, he always felt something like a 12th man; not that vital to the team.
But his absence will show us his importance. You don't feel the need of a watchful protector until you're in danger, you don't miss the comforts of your home until you're away, you don't miss the sun until it's too cold, you don't miss Azhar Ali until he's gone because you only miss the sun when its starts to snow.
“I may switch from the boring choice of Azhar that had just made." The words of Osman Samiuddin can be applied to most of the cricket fans in Pakistan. On his debut, no one would have thought that he will become the 5th highest runs getter for Pakistan in Tests. He did that on his own without much support from his home crowd, cricket fans who always mocked him for his slow, boring batting.
In the words of Jarrod Kimber, Azhar Ali was indeed a glorious cockroach of batting.