RAWALPINDI: Last night, Babar Azam scored his maiden PSL hundred against Quetta Gladiators which ended in a losing cause in an important match of HBL PSL 8. Cricketing fans applauded the innings by Babar despite Peshawar being unable to defend a target of 241 runs. However, the efforts of Babar Azam fell short to impress New Zealand’s commentator Simon Doull as he criticised the batting approach of the Pakistani skipper.
Babar Azam scored 115 runs from 65 balls. His fifty came up in 32 balls, and it took him only 28 more deliveries to reach a century. But when he was on 80 off 44, Babar took 16 more balls to achieve the three-figure milestone.
https://twitter.com/thePSLt20/status/1633495068030976003
When the captain of Peshawar Zalmi reached 99, Simon Doull questioned his approach. Simon said that for the last while, Babar has not been looking for boundaries despite knowing that a lot of firepower is going to come ahead ( here he referred to Mohammad Haris, Haseebullah Khan and Aamer Jamal). The commentator said that though hundreds and stats mean a lot a player should put the team first.
https://twitter.com/Zakr1a/status/1633491666949619715
Pakistani got outraged on Twitter
Some may have agreed with Simon’s comments but a large portion of Babar Azam fans and admirers of Pakistan cricket bashed the commentator for his remarks. Some suggested that Babar should give a befitting reply to Simon. On the other, some believed that Simon should remain quiet altogether.
https://twitter.com/KhazranSays/status/1633758582452658177
https://twitter.com/areebssss/status/1633496162731806721
https://twitter.com/KhushalKakar39/status/1633494979686420480
https://twitter.com/zunairmalik222/status/1633538008778432514
This is not the first time Simon has criticised Babar. Earlier, during the Pak-New Zealand series, Simon questioned the quality of pitches and asked if the pitches are made after Babar’s directive who wants to bat on roads and improve his personal record. He also once lashed out at Rizwan for playing slow at the start even though he scored a century for Multan Sultans.
https://twitter.com/asmemesss/status/1610903745466101761