India, Feb. 23 -- Shaheen Shah Afridi mingled freely with the fans. Haris Rauf gave selfie time to the Indian media. Pakistan's strenuous training session was over, and their pacemen had got over the disappointment of a poor start in the competition they are hosting. In another corner of the ICC academy, Babar Azam was a study in contrast. Immersed in the batting nets, 36 hours before the big match.

It's no longer hard to read his mental battle. Pakistan's primary batter, former captain; King, a term coined by publicists to link his rise with the star batter from across the border, had work to do.

His batting averages have dropped. More alarmingly, his strike rate has nosedived, particularly against spin. Azam is coming into a must-win ...