Babar Azam’s goal percentage was once again a big talking point after the Pakistan captain’s performance in the ongoing match against the United States in the eleventh match of the T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Green opened their campaign in the ninth edition of the competition on Thursday (June 6) as they take on co-host United States at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.
When asked to bat first, Pakistan got off to a disastrous start as they lost as many as three overs in the powerplay. Saurabh Netravalkar gave the United States the first breakthrough by dismissing Mohammad Rizwan for 9 runs in the second over.
In the third over, Nosthush Kenjige dismissed Usman Khan for just 3 runs. Fakhar Zaman got off to a promising start and scored a quick six, but that too did not last long as Ali Khan dismissed him in the fifth over to reduce Pakistan to 26 for 3.
With wickets falling at regular intervals at one end, Babar Azam decided to take a cautious approach. The Pakistan captain hardly attempted any big knocks to ensure he kept his wicket intact. However, his lack of intent has surprised many, including former Royal Challengers Bengaluru batsman and wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami.
As Babar Azam struggled to score at a good pace, the former cricketer took to X (formerly Twitter) to viciously attack the Pakistan star. Shreevats Goswami did not mince his words when he asked Babar Azam to retire injured and said it would be a smart decision.
“Retire hurt? Big decision, but it would be a smart decision!” wrote Goswami, who was part of the Indian Under-19 team that won the World Cup in 2008 under the captaincy of Virat Kohli.
When a user called Goswami’s comment harsh and pointed out that the Pakistan captain had done well to stand his ground at one end, the former RCB star wrote: “He is surely standing there.”
Retire got hurt? Big decision, but it would be a wise decision! #T20IWorldCup2024
– Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) June 6, 2024
He’s probably standing there.
– Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) June 6, 2024
Babar Azam fails:
Babar Azam finally failed to end his innings on a good note and departed after scoring 44 runs off 43 balls. At a time when Pakistan would have wanted their captain to stand tall and finish the innings strongly, the right-handed batsman produced a disappointing effort when he got out in the 16th over. Talking about the game, Pakistan were at 150 for 7 in the 20th over at the time of writing this report.