Numbers Reveal Babar and Rizwan as World’s Slowest-Scoring Duo in ODIs

Babar Azam’s form in particular is under the microscope.

By DTD- On Aug 11, 2025

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s batting mainstays, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, continue to struggle in international cricket with the ongoing ODI series against the West Indies in the Caribbean as the latest example.

While the two aren’t recognised as the most economical scorers in the format, they will face even more scrutiny after statistics revealed they have recorded the lowest batting strike rates in ODIs among players from ICC full-member nations in the past two years. Since January 1, 2024, Rizwan’s strike rate in ODIs stands at 75.03, the slowest of all full-member batters, while Babar’s 78.88 is the second lowest; no other batter is below 80 in that span.

The figures are stark when compared to the modern one-day game, where elite batting line-ups regularly operate at strike rates well above 90 and often closer to 100.

Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam have been the bedrock of Pakistan’s batting over the past half-decade, often tasked with holding the innings together. Their approach worked well in the past, with Pakistan winning 7 out of 9 ODI matches in 2024, including monumental series wins over Australia and South Africa in their backyards. However, their fortunes changed in 2025 with a disastrous Champions Trophy and only 2 ODI wins out of 10 on record this year.

And these latest numbers suggest it may be RizBar costing Pakistan in terms of run-rate pressure, especially during the middle overs. Babar’s career strike-rate of 87.78 and Rizwan’s 85.90 suggest the two are capable of dictating play when on song, but the two have been far from their prolific best.

Babar Azam’s form in particular is under the microscope. The former captain has not scored an international century since August 2023. Across 71 innings in all formats since that last hundred, he has produced 18 half-centuries with a highest score of 81, but has been unable to convert those starts into match-defining big scores. Rizwan, meanwhile, has built a reputation as a dependable anchor, capable of batting deep into the innings. However, his inability to accelerate consistently has seen his strike rate remain well below the levels of other top-order batters globally since 2024.

In today’s ODI cricket, where teams aim for scores in excess of 320–340, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan’s reserved batting style may be costing Pakistan valuable wins.

With ODIs not particularly Pakistan’s favorite format at the moment, Babar and Rizwan seem to have some time on their hands to work on fixing this issue. But Pakistan’s think tank has already made it clear, they may need to reassess the roles of their senior batters going forward. A shift towards quicker scoring, particularly in the middle overs, could be vital if the team is to match the aggressive standards of modern-day ODI cricket, with or without the duo.

The challenge for Babar and Rizwan will be to maintain their hallmark consistency while finding ways to increase their scoring rates, a balance that could define Pakistan’s white-ball fortunes over the coming years. If that does not happen, we might be seeing this world-famous duo only in the cricketing whites soon.