USA vs PAK: "Retire hurt yourself" - Ex-RCB star takes brutal dig at Babar Azam for 'Test cricket' innings in T20 WC 2024

Babar Azam's strike-rate has become a major talking point once again after the Pakistan captain's display in the ongoing game against USA in the 11th game of the T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Green opened their campaign in the ninth edition of the competition on Thursday (June 6) by locking horns against co-hosts USA at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.

Asked to bat first, Pakistan were off to a disastrous start as they lost as many as three overs inside the powerplay. Saurabh Netravalkar gave USA 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 made a promising start and hit a six quickly but did not last long either 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 went for any big shot to make sure he kept his wicket intact. However, his lack of intent has surprised many including former Royal Challengers Bengaluru wicketkeeper-batsman Shreevats Goswami.

As Babar Azam was struggling to score at a good pace, the former cricketer took to X (formerly Twitter) to take a brutal dig at the Pakistan star. Shreevats Goswami did not mince his words as he asked Babar Azam to retire hurt and said that it would be a wise move.

"Retire hurt yourself ? Big call but would be a wise one !" wrote Goswami who was a part of the Indian Under-19 team that won the World Cup in 2008 under Virat Kohli's captaincy.

When a user called Goswami's comment harsh and pointed out that the Pakistan skipper has done well to stand firm at one end, the former RCB star wrote: "He is standing there for sure."

Retire hurt yourself ? Big call but would be a wise one ! #<!---->T<!---->2<!---->0<!---->I<!---->W<!---->o<!---->r<!---->l<!---->d<!---->C<!---->u<!---->p<!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->4

— Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) J<!---->u<!---->n<!---->e<!----> <!---->6<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->4

He is standing there for sure .

— Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) J<!---->u<!---->n<!---->e<!----> <!---->6<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->4

Babar Azam flops:

Babar Azam eventually failed to finish his innings on a good note and departed after scoring 44 runs from 43 balls. At a time when Pakistan would have wanted their captain to stand tall and finish the innings strongly, the right-handed batsman came up with a disappointing effort as he departed in the 16th over. Talking about the game, Pakistan were on 150 for 7 in the 20th over at the time of writing this report.