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Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has hit back at ex-India spinner Amit Mishra who mocked Babar Azam for his barren run with the bat in the ongoing World Cup in Australia.
Babar Azam managed to register scores of 0, 4, and 4 against India, Zimbabwe, and the Netherlands respectively. His lackluster display in these games has put Pakistan's T20 World Cup under threat because they now need to win their remaining matches to qualify for the semifinals. One of those contests will be against Group 2 table-toppers South Africa.
On Sunday, former India tweaker Amit Mishra took a subtle dig at Babar Azam as he posted a message for the out-of-form Pakistan skipper on Twitter.
“This too shall pass. Stay strong Babar Azam,” Amit Mishra wrote on the microblogging website.
Amit Mishra's message for the talismanic batter didn't go unnoticed by former Pakistan cricketers as it was a replica of Babar Azam's tweet for Virat Kohli a few months ago when the ex-India skipper was going through a prolonged slump with the bat.
While Babar Azam didn't reply to Amit Mishra's tweet, former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi responded on his behalf by mocking the retired India spinner.
“The name you're taking, Amit Mishra, he has also played for India? Was he a spinner or a batsman,” Shahid Afridi asked the television anchor as if he didn't recognize the former India leg-spinner.
When the TV host told him he was a spinner who also appeared in the IPL, Shahid Afridi said: “No issues. Let's move on.”
Earlier, India's two-time World winner Gautam Gambhir tore into Babar Azam, calling him out for his below-par captaincy in the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia.
Blaming Babar Azam's poor selection calls for Pakistan's poor showing in the prestigious event, Gautam Gambhir joined the brigade of former cricketers who accused him of being “insecure”.
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Gautam Gambhir also alleged that Babar Azam was a “selfish” cricketer who always thought about himself and not about the team.
“In my opinion, first, you think about your team instead of yourself; if nothing goes according to your plan, you should have sent Fakhar Zaman up the batting order. This is called selfishness; as a captain, it is easy to be selfish. It is easy for Babar and Rizwan to open the innings for Pakistan and create so many records. If you want to be a leader, you have to think about your team,” Gautam Gambhir said.
Similar sentiments were shared by Pakistani greats, Waqar Younis, and Wasim Akram who ripped into the premier batter, terming him “selfish” and “insecure”. The legendary pacers argued that Babar Azam may have become a great batsman but his captaincy was still a work in progress.
The duo even questioned his reluctance to bat down instead of his usual opening position to provide the much-needed stability to Pakistan's vulnerable middle order.
“The easiest place to bat in T20s is opening. You have not let anyone else open in the last two years. I have discussed this with Misbah before, that's why don't you try something new? You have tried it out with bowling, but with batting, we have tried all the experiments with the middle order. But the openers have remained the same and they have batted 14-15 overs together,” Waqar Younis said in a conversation with a Pakistani television channel.
“Sometimes, as a captain and as a leader, you leave your spot and say, Haider, if it is not working out for you in the middle order, I will give you the easier spot (opening) and we never tried that out, and that is why we are suffering. And we also lose because of the way they score runs. To become No.1 and No. 2 (in T20I rankings) is not a big deal, the important thing is to win after scoring those runs,” Waqar Younis added.
“All of these things begin at the top. And at the top is your captain. If your captain plays for himself and is insecure. If your captain scores runs and lets other batters play at his position, you get to know that your captain is ready to sacrifice himself for you, this Babar has to learn,” Wasim Akram said.
“The difference between being a captain and the leader, well that's the difference,” Waqar Younis remarked while taking a subtle dig at Babar Azam.
“I have been through this by the way with Babar, at Karachi Kings, yes. In the team we had a couple of bad phases and I requested him once or twice nicely, that please come down at number 3, we’ll try something different. Let (Martin) Guptill bat at the top, seeing he is an opener. And he (Babar) said I would not go down, you ask Sharjeel to bat at 3, and he (Sharjeel) is a natural opener too. And these little things that the captain does, the team senses too,” Wasim Akram stated recounting his time with Babar Azam in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
However, Babar Azam found support from former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers who termed him a “fantastic” player.
“Babar Azam is an amazing player. I watched him play for the first time, saying this boy can play. He is a fantastic addition to Pakistan's success, and it's great to see young generations taking ownership,” AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
“The batting side of Pakistan has always been a problem; it was never solid enough, it always goes up and down, and I feel they are in a place of consistency because of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan”, AB de Villiers signed off.
