The former Pakistan middle-order batter, Basit Ali, has come up with a peculiar advice to the former red-ball captain and one of the superstars of the game, Babar Azam, who has been struggling in the Test matches in recent times, as he is yet to celebrate a fifty in the last 16 innings, with the best score of 31 which he got during the first innings of the second Test against Bangladesh at Rawalpindi.
Babar Azam has been facing a lot of criticism for this poor batting, where he hasn’t been up to the mark in getting back into his groove. The veteran could manage only 64 runs in four innings in the recent home Test series against the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side.
In the very first innings of the opening game, he had an unfortunate way of dismissal thanks to getting an edge into the gloves as he followed the ball in the leg-side. The Lahore-born got another outside edge against the left-arm pacer in the second innings of the game.
Pakistan to lose Nepal because of Babar Azam? – Former player makes huge claim
The 29-year-old was looking good in the first innings of the second Test match, as he collected runs around the start of the innings before a rapid delivery from Shakib Al Hasan held its line and hit him in the pads to end his knock of 31 runs.
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Babar Azam, who started the series at the third position in the ICC Men’s batters rankings, has dropped to the 12th rank with 712 points at the end of the two games. Many suspected that probably taking the leadership responsibilities from his shoulders would have helped him in his batting development, but it hasn’t worked. So, the question stands, what should be doing now?
The former middle-order batter of the ‘Green Brigade,’ Basit Ali, has ignored the technical flaws and approach of Babar’s batting, and believes that the batter should get married, as he could become a different person after tying the knot.
“Babar Azam, talk to your parents and get married. He will be a completely different man after that. I know how a player feels when he is not performing well.” The former middle-order batter expressed on his YouTube channel. “I request Babar Azam’s parents to get him to marry. Like an elder brother, I want him to tell him Shaadi kar le bhai, ab Umar zyada ho gayi hai teri (Get married brother, you are now old enough.”
The last fifty-plus score in the red-ball format for the batter came in December 2022 against New Zealand in Karachi. In overall records, the right-handed batter has smashed 3962 runs in 54 games at an average of 44.51 and a strike rate of just over 50, with 26 half-centuries and nine centuries.
Basit also stretched out that if Pakistan wouldn’t take lessons from their defeat in the series, they had to be ready to lose against lower-ranked teams like Afghanistan and Nepal in the future.
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“This is a wake-up call for Pakistan cricket. They can’t go lower than this. Now, it’s the time to rise and open your eyes. If you still don’t open your eyes after losing to Bangladesh, play the Test series only against Nepal and Afghanistan. Pakistan has learned a lesson, and it will benefit them.” The 53-year-old shared his view.
As a result of this 2-0 series defeat against Bangladesh, the Shan Masood-led side has slipped to the eighth spot in the ICC Test rankings, which is their worst since 1965. Their next game will be against England, starting on October 07 in Multan.
