India, Feb. 26 -- Babar Azam's last ODI century was against Nepal in August 2023. That's 23 innings ago. In between, he scored seven half-centuries, but very few of them were as fluent as they once used to be. The story is not much in different other formats. His last impactful T20I knock was against Irelan in May 2024. In his last 26 test innings, Babar has crossed the 50-run mark only two times. The Pakistan superstar is caught in a downward spiral. It is showing in Pakistan's performance.

The defending champions were knocked out of the Champions Trophy, the first ICC tournament they have hosted since 1996, in just four days after losing to New Zealand and India in their group outings. They then somehow scrapped through to the tri-seri...