Pakistani batsman Babar Azam has been in the news following his disappointing performances during the recently concluded Test series against Bangladesh at home. The batsman has also recently caught the eye for his behaviour with a fan ahead of the 2024 Champions One-Day Cup.
Babar Azam had a series of poor performances during the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, where Pakistan suffered a humiliating 0-2 defeat.The right-handed batsman managed to score just 64 runs in four innings. He has not scored a half-century in his last 16 innings in Test cricket.
Bangladesh won the second Test against Pakistan by six wickets on 3 September. Pakistan had earlier suffered a 10-wicket defeat in the first Test at the same venue. The Men in Green will next face a strong England side in a three-match home Test series, starting with the first match in Multan on October 7..
Watch: Babar Azam’s bad behavior with a fan in a viral video
The 29-year-old batsman is currently preparing for the upcoming Champions One-Day Cup. Star players like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Imam-ul-Haq and Haris Rauf will be part of the 50-overs event. Babar will play under the captaincy of wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Haris for the Stallions in the tournament.
Babar met fans in Faisalabad as he joined his team, the Stallions, for the Champions One-Day Cup, which runs from September 12 to 29.The Pakistan Cricket Board will conduct fitness tests for national cricketers on September 9 at the High Performance Centre in Faisalabad.
However, in the viral video, Babar was seen interacting with a fan in Faisalabad. A fan wanted to put a hand on Babar’s shoulder while taking the photo but was stopped from doing so by Pakistan’s white-ball captain. Babar then posed for a picture with the fan during the video posted on X.
– Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (@Hanji_CricDekho) September 8, 2024
Pakistani cricketer Sohaib Maqsood has urged Pakistani cricket fans to be patient and support Babar Azam, adding that he is yet to reach his full potential. Maqsood drew a comparison with Rohit Sharma, saying that the Indian captain scored 35 international centuries after turning 30.
“Rohit Sharma has scored 35 international centuries after turning 30, so don’t worry, Babar Azam’s best time is yet to come.” Maqsood wrote in X.
Rohit Sharma has scored 35 international centuries after crossing the age of 30, so stay calm Babar Azam, the best time is yet to come 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
— Sohaib Maqsood (@sohaibcricketer) September 6, 2024
Babar has gone over 616 days without scoring a fifty in Test cricket. The middle-order batsman registered scores of 0, 22, 31 and 11 during the recent series against Bangladesh at home. His highest score in the last eight Test matches is 41, which came against Australia at the MCG last year.
According to Geo TV, the Pakistan Cricket Board is considering replacing Babar as the white-ball captain with Mohammad Rizwan. Babar’s recent tenure as captain in white-ball cricket has been disappointing as Pakistan failed to advance beyond the group stages at the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.
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