"The whole world talks about it when Babar Azam gets out" - Basit Ali on the Pakistani batter's duck in 2024 PAK vs BAN 1st Test
Basit Ali opined that Team India's Virat Kohli and Pakistan's Babar Azam are the only two batters who draw a lot of attention even when they are dismissed cheaply. He mentioned that both players receive praise and criticism in abundance, based on their performances.
Babar was slammed by many after being dismissed for a two-ball duck on Day 1 of Pakistan's ongoing Test series opener against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, August 21. Basit pointed out that it was similar to Kohli grabbing headlines for his back-to-back failures in India's recently concluded three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.
Speaking in his latest YouTube video, the former Pakistani batter said (from 6:22):
"The whole world talks about it when Babar Azam gets out. There are just two such players - Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. When they score a hundred, they get a lot of praise, but when they get out early, they get slammed heavily. We saw it happen when Virat Kohli got out in all three matches of the Sri Lanka series."
Bangladesh won the toss and chose to field first in the first Test against Pakistan. The hosts were off to a dismal start, losing three early wickets. Skipper Shan Masood also failed to make a significant impact, getting caught behind after scoring just six runs.
Masood was initially given not out by the on-field umpire but the third umpire overturned the decision after Bangladesh opted for DRS. The southpaw was visibly upset with the call, as replays suggested that the spike on UltraEdge came after the ball had passed the bat.
Reacting to the controversial dismissal, Basit remarked Masood was not out as the ball had brushed the pad. He reckoned that the Pakistani captain made a big mistake by straight away looking towards the keeper after being beaten.
Basit commented (from 1:33):
"Shan Masood was not out. No matter what people say, the ball missed the bat. It hit the pad. Shan Masood did a stupid thing of immediately looking behind after missing the ball. He gave a chance to the third umpire."
Shan Masood was spotted venting his anger in the dressing room after being adjudged caught behind by the third umpire. In a video surfaced on social media, he can be seen pointing towards a television screen, possibly highlighting that the ball had not hit the bat.
"The nets in Pakistan are very close to the batters" - Basit Ali on Babar Azam being strangled down the leg side in 2024 PAK vs BAN 1st Test
Babar Azam was dismissed by Shoriful Islam in the ninth ball of the Pakistani innings. The ace batter perished while trying to glance a down-the-leg delivery.
Basit Ali believes that the Pakistani batters now have a habit of trying to play every ball. Blaming the poor dimension of the nets for it, the cricketer-turned-expert said in the same video (from 6:52):
"I had earlier pointed out that the nets in Pakistan are very close to the batters. If he leaves the ball, he has to go pick up the ball and throw it at the bowler. Because of this, a habit has been formed that the batters try to hit every ball."
The 53-year-old added that Babar committed a big error by shuffling across his stumps. He noted that the player has been doing so to avoid being out in the slips, elaborating (from 7:24):
"He shuffled a lot on the very first ball that he faced. He is focusing on batting on the off stump to make sure he doesn't get out in the slips. He was playing Shaheen Afridi the same way in the nets. Do you don't get out on the leg side? On the ball that he got out, you can see that the leg stump was visible. It is a wrong technique. You need to get set on such pitches. When there is a channel bowling, you have to fight it out and block your shots. This is not T20 cricket where you will hit blindly."
Pakistan finished at 1548/4 at Stumps on Day 1. Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan remained unbeaten on 59 and 24, respectively. Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud bagged two wickets each on the opening day.