"These things happen, even when we perform well" - Babar Azam responds to criticism about his captaincy
Pakistan captain Babar Azam reacted to criticism of his tactics as captain, especially from a senior TV journalist, after Thursday's match (October 13) against Bangladesh. The right-handed batter underlined that such comments hardly bother him and are rampant regardless of the team's performance.
The 27-year-old has faced criticism of late, for his batting and his captaincy, due to Pakistan's inconsistent performances. Some former cricketers have also suggested that Azam should step down as the skipper in one format while others have suggested that the captaincy responsibilities were given to him too early.
what the hell did i just watch twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/C4qtCHP6sM
In a video that went viral on social media, Aftab Iqbal stated that Babar Azam is no longer a star due to his ego issues with other players. Responding to this criticism when asked about it by a journalist during a press conference, the Pakistan skipper said:
"I don't know who you are talking about. These things happen, even when we perform well, it happens. But we don't bother, we just try to keep the team's confidence and unity intact. We try to give our 100 percent and win. Sometimes, we are not up to the mark but we discuss and plan about things where we can improve."
Meanwhile, the Lahore-born batter was in the thick of things as Pakistan beat Bangladesh in Christchurch in the final league game of the ongoing tri-nation series. After restricting Bangladesh to 173, Babar and Rizwan set the base with a 105-run opening stand.
Mohammad Nawaz's 20-ball 45 also played a critical role in the seven-wicket win. Pakistan will now face New Zealand in the final on October 14.
Babar Azam becomes the fastest Asian batter to 11,000 in international cricket
During his 40-ball 55 against Bangladesh in Christchurch, the ace batter also reached 11,000 international runs, becoming the fastest Asian player to reach the milestone. He is the 11th Pakistani player to do so and did it faster than India's Virat Kohli.
While the 27-year-old has taken 251 innings to achieve the landmark, Kohli did it in 261. Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar is third on the list, getting to the milestone in 262 innings. He is followed by Javed Miandad, who achieved the same in 266 innings.
The skipper compiles 29th T20I fifty 👏
Pakistan bring up the 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ inside 12 overs 🏏
#PAKvBAN | #NZTriSeries https://t.co/LcU3nN240x
Babar also went past Indian skipper Rohit Sharma in the list of most T20I half-centuries. The latter has 28 but his Pakistani counterpart now has 29 half-centuries to his name.