"Whole world is laughing" - Ex-Pakistan cricketer brutally slams Babar Azam, Shan Masood

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has taken a brutal jibe at the country's star batter Babar Azam after another failed outing. Babar was was dismissed for just 5 runs in the second innings of the first Test in Multan against England.

The Pakistan No. 4 scored just 30 runs in the first innings which means his string of low scores have continued. Babar Azam has been in poor form for the past year or so in all the formats. Be it the Tests, ODIs, or T20Is, he has been under tremendous pressure as a batter.

The right-hander has failed to score a fifty in the three Tests played in this home season so far. The pitch in Multan for the first Test against England was good for batting but Babar failed to make a significant impact.

Also read: Updated ICC World Test Championship Points Table After Pakistan vs England 1st Test 2024

Basit Ali slams Babar Azam for another low score

While speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali tore apart the Pakistan cricket team for their dismal performance against England. Basit took a brutal dig at Babar Azam saying that the star batter needs rest since he has failed to perform in the last 18 innings.

The former Pakistan cricketer even claimed that some other player would have been dropped from the team after such a poor performance but the same is not happening with Babar Azam. He also cited the example of Fawad Alam, a talented batter who did not play enough matches for Pakistan.

"Babar Azam needs rest. Babar should say that I need to rest. It has been 18 innings since he has performed. If some other player was playing, then he would be out of the squad after three games, like Fawad Alam. This is the bitter truth," Basit said.

"Babar should reduce his stance. It is a lot now. The whole world is laughing. Is this how to play?" the former Pakistan cricketer argued.

Babar Azam's last Test fifty came way back on December 26, 2022, when he scored 161 against New Zealand. He has aggregated just 366 runs in 18 Test innings since then at an average of 20.33 without a fifty-plus score to his name.

Basit Ali labels Shan Masood as a "failed" captain

Basit Ali did not stop here and even criticized Pakistan's Test captain Shan Masood. Basit declared Shan Masood as a failed captain. He also spoke about Masood's batting spot and claimed that the left-hander should open rather than batting at No. 3.

"Shan Masood has failed as captain. I have been saying that Shan is an opener he should open. But he played at number three. Now, what will happen? Who will you drop? He should play at his number. He doesn't even know captaincy. What has happened to this cricket team? It is shameful," Basit added.

The former Pakistan cricketer lauded England for their brilliant performance despite tough conditions in Multan. He hailed Joe Root and Harry Brook for their 454-run record partnership which took the game away from Pakistan.

Meanwhile, England claimed a memorable victory over Pakistan on the fifth day of the Test. Batting first, Pakistan scored 556 runs, thanks to tons from Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Salman Ali Agha.

England defeat Pakistan to take 1-0 lead

England put on a spectacular batting effort in their first innings and put on an exhibition of 'Bazball' style of batting. Joe Root and Harry Brook were the architects as both of them tired Pakistan bowlers.

Root scored a magnificent record-breaking 262 while Brook scored his first triple-century of his career. Brook was dismissed on 317 off 322 balls in a marathon innings as England scored 823-7 and declared their innings.

In the second innings, Pakistan's batting faltered and they were all out for just 220. Salman Ali Agha and Aamer Jamal scored fifties down the order but the top-order failure meant that Pakistan lost the match by an innings and 47 runs.