Babar Azam openly declared 'minnow basher' as Danish Kaneria demands strict action from PCB

Danish Kaneria lashed out at Babar Azam for his inability to perform in the high-pressure matches against the big teams after Pakistan crashed out of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Kaneria pointed out that Babar Azam always struggles to score against the top teams, taking a dig at the former Pakistan captain by saying that he only scores against weak teams like Zimbabwe.

Pakistan suffered back-to-back defeats against New Zealand and India in their first two group matches, which led to their early exit from the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Their last hopes of qualification were crushed when New Zealand comfortably defeated Bangladesh in Rawalpindi to qualify for the semifinals alongside India from Group A.

Danish Kaneria blasts Babar Azam for failing in big matches

Well, Babar Azam managed to score 64 runs against New Zealand and 23 runs against India. The right-handed batter faced heavy backlash for his approach, particularly in the match against the Black Caps, where Pakistan was chasing a daunting target of 321, and he took 90 balls to score 64 runs.

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Many former players and analysts have questioned Babar Azam’s intent and ability to step up in crunch moments. And now Danish Kaneria has joined the long list of Babar’s critics, as the former Pakistan spinner emphasized that the star batter needs to prove himself against top teams in major tournaments rather than becoming a hero by scoring runs against weaker opponents.

Danish Kaneria was quoted as saying by ANI, “Babar has not scored runs for so long, but when he scores, it is against Zimbabwe or against smaller teams. If he scores against big teams, there is no intent at all.”

Danish Kaneria says Pakistan’s early exit from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was predictable

Furthermore, Kaneria has criticized Pakistan’s batting lineup, saying the team doesn’t have any depth. He also boldly said that only Saud Shakeel has the solid technique in the Men in Green’s batting line-up and questioned Mohammad Rizwan’s recent form, saying his bat has gone silent. The former spinner was also not surprised with Pakistan’s early exit from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, saying it was predictable.

He explained, “There is no depth in the batting. Salman Agha and Khushdil Shah sometimes make contributions. Saud Shakeel is a technically correct batter. But Rizwan's bat seems to have stopped working. When the Champions Trophy squad was announced, one could see it getting eliminated pretty soon out of the tournament.”

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Danish Kaneria accuses PCB of favoritism and poor selection

Additionally, Danish Kaneria slammed Pakistan’s cricket setup, blaming favoritism and poor selection for their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 failure. He criticized the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for rewarding mediocrity and selecting players based on friendships rather than merit.

The former cricketer called the PCB for strict accountability, warning that without tough decisions, Pakistan will continue to struggle on the big stage. He further noted, “If they do not produce the results, they can be asked to pack their bags and leave. There should be strict guidelines. But here, they make teams based on friendship and PR.

Kaneria signed off by saying, “When you make a team for your country, you do not think of yourself. But here, everyone is sitting, running their shop. Score small runs and keep working. Things do not work this way. If you work like this, you will also get results like this (Pakistan being out of CT).”