"He was about to cry" - Rahmanullah Gurbaz recalls an emotional Babar Azam post PAK-AFG 2023 World Cup game
Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz recently recalled former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam in near-tears during the 2023 World Cup. The incident took place when Babar gifted a bat to Gurbaz following Afghanistan's eight-wicket victory over Pakistan in Chennai.
Despite scoring 282, the Men in Green could not prevent the Afghans from hunting down the target with eight wickets and an over to spare. Babar top-scored for Pakistan with 74, yet Gurbaz's quickfire 53-ball 65 set the stage for Afghanistan's victory.
Recalling the post-game interaction, Gurbaz hailed Babar Azam and was quoted by India Today as saying:
"Trust me, I was trying not to say this in front of the camera, but I want to say that he was about to cry. He was so dejected, and I have never seen any player like that. Everyone was against him. But I salute Babar bhai, he was so strong and he kept going. He never gave up."
"That moment I will never forget about Babar," Rahmanullah Gurbaz continued. "We beat Pakistan, and then I asked for his bat. Once he brought the bat, he was so disappointed and I can feel as a player.
"I can feel that you know, when you lost the game and then this, especially in this kind of situation. He was under so much pressure. I remember that I also felt emotional, he is one of the best players, one of the best captains."
The defeat was Pakistan's third consecutive following an impressive 2-0 start to their 2023 World Cup campaign.
Eventually, the Men in Green finished fifth on the points table and missed out on a semi-final berth, leading to Babar Azam relinquishing captaincy duties in all formats.
Babar Azam had a sub-par 2023 World Cup with the bat
While there were several criticisms of Babar Azam's captaincy during the 2023 World Cup, the 29-year-old did not have a great campaign with the bat either.
Coming off a below-par Asia Cup, Babar scored just 15 runs in his first two outings against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. Although Babar scored an impressive half-century against arch-rivals India, his untimely dismissal immediately led to a Pakistan collapse from 155/2 to being bowled out for 191.
After scoring only 18 against Australia in the next outing, Babar strung consecutive half-centuries against Afghanistan and South Africa but fell short of converting them into hundreds.
His most impactful knock of the World Cup came in Pakistan's penultimate match against New Zealand. Babar scored a brilliant 66* off 63 deliveries to help them stay alive in the competition with a 21-run victory by the D/L method.
The under-pressure skipper completed his campaign with a 45-ball 38 to end up with 320 runs in nine games at an average of 40 with four half-centuries.
Babar Azam will be in action next when Pakistan takes on Australia down under in the three-Test series, starting December 14.