Babar Azam injured seriously ahead of PSL 2024? Important update arrives from Pakistan camp

In worrying signs for the Pakistan team, their former captain and star batsman Babar Azam did not walk out on the field in the second innings of the recently-concluded fifth T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch.

The fifth and final match of the series took place on Sunday (January 21) at the Hagley Oval. Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi opted to bat first after winning the toss. The Men in Green managed to post only a modest total of 138 runs but still won the game to avoid a humiliating whitewash.

In-form Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for the visitors by scoring run-a-ball 38. On the other hand, Babar Azam could only score 13 runs before being dismissed by Ish Sodhi. After being dismissed in the tenth over of Pakistan’s innings, he did not take any further part in the game.

Babar Azam did not come out to the field, leading many to assume that he had sustained a serious injury. However, Pakistani journalist Sohail Imran has revealed that the injury is not serious and Babar Azam did not take the field because he felt tightness and discomfort in his leg.

Babar Azam's injury isn't serious. He had tightness in his muscle and felt discomfort in his leg, which is why he was off the field in the second innings ✅

[Sohail Imran] #NZvsPAK

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) January 21, 2024

Talking about the game, Pakistan went on to thrash the Black Caps by 42 runs to register their first win since the World Cup. The win also helped them avoid a whitewash as the five-match series ended at 4-1 in the favour of the hosts. Defending a modest 138, Pakistan bowled out New Zealand for just 92 runs. Iftikhar Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 24 while Afridi and Mohammad Nawaz picked up two wickets apiece.

Babar Azam’s performance:

Babar Azam was under a lot of pressure during the T20I series. The reason was his poor performance with the bat in recent times. The right-handed batsman endured a poor outing in the three-match Test series against Australia as well. In 6 innings, he scored only 126 runs with a top score of 41.

All eyes were on him as Pakistan locked horns against New Zealand in the T20Is and the former Pakistan captain managed to turn things around. He scored three half-centuries in a row although Pakistan ended up losing all the games.