SHOCKING! Shubman Gill beats Babar Azam, becomes the 4th most SEARCHED cricketer in Pakistan 

Babar Azam did not make in the top 10, while Abdullah Shafique became the most searched Pakistani cricketer.

SHOCKING! Shubman Gill beats Babar Azam, becomes the 4th most SEARCHED cricketer in Pakistan 

Shubman Gill ranked 8th in the most searched persons in Pakistan, while Babar Azam did not make the top 10 (Image via ESPN)

Shubman Gill has had a fabulous year in ODI cricket. His consistent performances made him become one of the players to watch out for in the World Cup, but he didn’t perform well. Despite that, he is still regarded as one of the most popular cricketers in the world, including in Pakistan. 

Google Trends released the top 10 trending people of 2023 in Pakistan, but it only included 5 Pakistani cricketers. At the top were Hareem Shah and Aliza Sehar, famous online influencers. Tiger Shroff and acting Prime Minister, Anwar ul Haq Anwar, came 3rd and 5th. Shubman Gill and Glenn Maxwell were the only non-Indian cricketers to be in the list, above Babar Azam. The most searched cricketer was breakout star, Abdullah Shafique, who ranked 4th. 

2023 has been tough for Azam. Pakistan lost a home Test series to Australia and drew to New Zealand, failed to qualify for the WTC finals, failed to win the 2023 Asia Cup and 2023 ICC ODI World Cup. He resigned from his role as the all-format captain just after the World Cup, 

Gautam Gambhir backs Babar Azam to become the greatest Pakistani batter 

Babar Azam had an average World Cup as a batter. He started off poorly, scoring 5 and 10 against Netherlands and Sri Lanka, but returned with a half-century against India. He scored 3 more 50s in the next 6 matches, but failed to get the team to the semis. 

Gautam Gambir Babar Azam
Gautam Gambir says Babar Azam was unable to perform due to captaincy (Image via ESPN)

After resignation, Gautam Gambhir believes Azam will be one of the best batters in the world. Gambhir claims the responsibility of being captain held him back, but now that he can bat freely he will show his class and become the best Pakistani batter of all time. 

You’ll see the best of Babar Azam now. You will see a completely different Babar Azam. Before the World Cup, I picked Babar as the batter of the tournament. But the pressure of captaincy hampered his form with the bat. It’s because when you are the skipper and your team isn’t performing well, you can imagine how much pressure he was under.
Gambhir said on Sportskeeda

Azam’s first test comes in the 3-match Test series against Australia in Australia. Babar will face the mighty Australian pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. The first Test will be in the Optus Stadium, Perth, which is one of the toughest places to bat in Australia. 

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