Pakistan were tipped as one of the favourites heading into the ODI World Cup. But, just over a fortnight into the tournament in India, the Asian heavyweights are hanging by a thread, so to speak, to stay in the competition.

Having soaked in the surprisingly warm welcome in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, Babar Azam's men got going on their first sojourn on Indian shores in seven years by defeating the Netherlands in their tournament opener. A six-wicket win against subcontinental neighbours and islanders Sri Lanka in a high-scoring game followed. Two wins out of two. Good start, you'd say.

But next one was the 'BIG' one — against old foes — India. And inside the cauldron that is the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in and front of sea of blue — more than 100,000 fans — Pakistan unravelled.

That perhaps kick-started Pakistan's troubles. Defeat to Australia in Bengaluru (formerly the Garden City of Bangalore) in another high-scorer shouldn't have got Pakistan worrying too much. But what transpired at Chepauk in Chennai not just put Pakistan off the rails but also raised questions of the man often compared to India's star Virat Kohli — Babar Azam.

So much so that, rumours, gossip and what-have-you has been surfacing about their best batsman's leadership. Not helping Babar Azam's cause is his numbers. Apart from a 50 against India and 74 against Afghanistan, the 29-year-old has had middling scores in the five matches so far.

There has been talk about trouble in the team even before the Afghanistan game with some Pakistani journalists taking to social media about alleged disputes within the team. It is being said there was a physical altercation involving players, and there appears to be an increasing level of disagreement within the team.

And caught in the crossfire is Babar Azam. And it has now emerged that his captaincy, the second most important job apart from the Prime Ministers of Pakistan as well as India, is in jeopardy.

Pakistan now have to win all their remaining four games against South Africa in Chennai (today), against Bangladesh at the majestic Eden Gardens in Kolkata (October 31), against New Zealand in Bengaluru (November 4) and the defending champions England at the Eden Gardens again (November 11) to qualify for the semifinals.

Azam, has been put on notice by the Pakistan Cricket Board and the 29-year-old has a herculean task ahead of him if he hopes to keep the job.

Azam not just has to rally his troops to stay in the competition but also inspire them with his batting.

He has had low scores in six of the last 10 matches that he has played with fifty or fifty-plus scores in the other four games. And one may be tempted to say those are fair returns but not in the case Azam because the benchmark is always higher when it comes to Pakistan's best batsman, who is taken in the same breath as India's Kohli.

Azam's scores in the previous 10 matches

The old cliche goes form is temporary but class is permanent and that's true of Babar Azam.

Pakistan not just expect but also need and want Azam to turn their fortunes around in the competition.

And that starts with a match-winning individual score against the South Africans at the historic Chepauk today.

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