“Babar’s stubbornness is only doing harm to Pakistani cricket”- Ex-Pakistani star on Babar Azam not being an ideal opener
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Babar Azam
The Pakistan team reached the final of the T20 World Cup 2022 despite a lackluster show in the Super 12s. They faced severe criticisms after their one-run loss to Zimbabwe. After two back-to-back defeats, they performed better in the Super 12 matches, and their impressive performance against New Zealand in the semi-final landed them in the final.
In the final, Babar Azam and Co. lost to Jos Buttler-led England by five wickets. The Men in Green were asked to bat first, where they put on just 137/8. Their bowlers, however, gave a tough fight to England but eventually, the Englishmen chased down the small target to be crowned T20 World Cup champions for the second time in history.
But Pakistan’s team, management, and board were not spared from criticisms and trolls. Several ex-Pakistani players slammed Babar for not giving the opening spot to someone else. Babar struggled with a lean patch in the tournament; apart from his half-century knock against the Kiwis in the semi-final, he was out for single-digit scores in several matches. He scored 32 in the final.
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Danish Kaneria wonders why Babar Azam cannot play as a middle-order batter
One of Babar Azam’s critics is former Pakistani spinner Danish Kaneria who slammed the skipper for his ‘stubbornness’ for not leaving the opening spot. He observed that if Mohammad Rizwan fails to score well, Babar fails too.
“Babar Azam is stubborn. The same happened when he was with Karachi Kings too. Their management did not want him to play as opener. But he was adamant to open because he cannot bat in the middle order. Don’t know why Babar doesn’t want to play in the middle-order. Babar’s stubbornness is only doing harm to Pakistani cricket. If Rizwan performs, then Babar also bats well. Babar starts his innings on a very slow note,” Kaneria said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Kaneria then praised former India skipper Virat Kohli by calling him a ‘selfless’ player. He explained how Kohli was a target of trolls following India’s poor performance in the last year’s T20 World Cup but still, the Indian talisman re-emerged with his form and did not give up.
“When it comes to being selfless, there is no one like Virat Kohli. The team lost the World Cup under his captaincy, and he had to face criticism. He even lost his captaincy. Many raised questions about his place in the team. But he didn’t give up. He gave his full support to the new captain and played at the number he asked him to. He has re-emerged with his form since the Asia Cup,” he said.
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Gouri Das
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