Watch: Babar Azam struggles against Naseem Shah's brother in nets, cops a painful blow too
Published - 17 Jul 2024, 07:29 PM | Updated - 24 Aug 2024, 05:57 AM
Pakistan T20I captain Babar Azam has been under severe pressure for quite some time now as he has struggled to impress as a batsman and a captain in recent months.
The right-handed batsman had stepped down as the captain of the team last year following Pakistan's league stage exit from the ODI World Cup. Pakistan had managed to win just 4 of their 9 league games and failed to qualify for the semifinal. Babar Azam's batting was not impressive either.
He faced severe criticism for his strike rate as well as his failure to deliver in pressure situations. He scored 320 runs in 9 games at a strike rate of just 82.90. Soon after the World Cup, he stepped down as the captain of the team. Shaheen Afridi and Shan Masood replaced him as the T20I and Test captains of Pakistan.
However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reinstated him as the T20I captain in April this year. Babar Azam, however, has failed to justify the decision so far. Under his captaincy, Pakistan drew the home T20I series against a second-string New Zealand side at home before losing a T20I against Ireland.
It was followed by a series of defeats in England before the Men in Green had a dismal campaign in the T20 World Cup as well last month. Pakistan bowed out of the competition at the group stage after suffering humiliating defeats against the USA and India.
Babar Azam's captaincy and batting were under the scanner once again as he failed to lead his team from the front. In 4 games, he scored 122 runs at a strike rate of just over 100. Apart from facing criticism, Babar Azam has also been heavily trolled on social media for failing to live up to the expectations in recent times.
And he could face more trolling in the coming days due to a video that has been doing the rounds on social media. In the clip, the Pakistan captain could be seen struggling while facing his Pakistan teammate Naseem Shah's brother Ubaid Shah in the nets. On one occasion, he was even hit on his body while trying to play a pull shot.
Watch Babar Azam's struggles against Ubaid Shah:
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