It is over 29 years since Pakistan last hosted a major tournament and even though Indian intransigence has turned this competition into a hybrid affair split between Babar’s home country and the United Arab Emirates, the weight of expectation sitting on his shoulders would be too much for some.
“For Babar, it’s bizarre,” says Mickey Arthur, the former Pakistan coach who handed him his Test debut in 2016.
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Read MoreThe pressure will be ratcheted up another notch as soon as Pakistan take to the field for their tournament opener against New Zealand in Karachi on Wednesday.
It is nothing new.
“Here’s a guy who has a zillion people watching him play no matter where he is in the world but when he walks over that white line it’s just bat against ball – him against the bowler,” Hurry tells The i Paper.
“He loves looking at ways he can put the pressure back on the bowler.
“But I remember him practising for the first time and you knew someone special was there because none of the boys went into the changing room – they all just stood there watching him in the nets. That doesn’t happen very often.”
The sheer weight of cricket he has played in recent has appeared to take a toll.
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Read MoreHe had stepped down as skipper across all formats following Pakistan’s disappointing showing at the 2023 World Cup.
It is a measure of his durability and bloody-mindedness, that his will still be the wicket that opposition sides covet above all others in this Pakistan side.
“When cricket returned to Pakistan after so many years of the country playing in the UAE, he was really the poster boy. But he has been good enough to handle that throughout his career.
“He has led that batting line-up. It has been an OK batting line-up, but with him in it, you always feel like Pakistan have a chance.”
Apart, that is, from the 235 million fans who refuse to believe that, with Babar in the side, any other outcome is possible.
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