While King Kohli found his mojo back, his apparent heir in Asian cricket, Babar Azam, has been going through a lean patch in the Asia Cup.
Babar's string of low scores has been a big concern for Pakistan going into the tournament final. In the 5 innings so far, he managed to accumulate only 63 runs at an average of 12.6 with scores of 10, 9, 14, 0 and 30.
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However, Pakistan's head coach Saqlain Mushtaq feels otherwise. In the press conference after Pakistan's loss against Sri Lanka in the Super 4, Mushtaq said that the captain is in good form but it's luck that is not in his favour.
"Babar is in good form. It is just that his luck is not going his way. The kind of boundaries he has hit against India. A batter with deeper eyes will say that his form is fine, It is his luck which is not going his way," Mushtaq added
With Babar failing to notch up big runs, his opening partner Rizwan has dethroned him from the top of the ICC T20I rankings as well.
Come Sunday, Pakistan will be hoping that their captain finds his form back in the final against Sri Lanka, given ICC T20 World Cup is only a month away.
And if the Men In Green want to repeat their last edition's success, where they reached the semifinal of the marquee event, then they need their captain to come good with the bat.
Before the T20 World Cup Down Under, Pakistan are scheduled to play seven T20Is against England at home, starting September 20. It will be followed by a tri-series, involving Bangladesh & host nation New Zealand. Pakistan will begin their ICC T20 World Cup campaign against India on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The India vs Pakistan match in T20 World Cup will begin at 1:30 PM IST.