Legendary Wasim Akram found out a unique way to describe Babar Azam's sluggish knock during Pakistan's Champions Trophy's campaign opener against New Zealand on February 19. Pakistan suffered a hefty 60-run defeat against New Zealand in the tournament opener. Following Pakistan's loss to New Zealand, legendary pacer Wasim Akram used humor to express his disappointment with Babar Azam's slow innings. Akram, as a television analyst, recounted a fictional story to illustrate his point about Babar's unusually sluggish knock, which contributed to Pakistan's defeat in front of their home crowd in Karachi.
Wasim Akram's humorous analogy to describe Babar Azam's slow knock
Akram recalled his pre-match analysis, where he had advised Babar Azam to anchor the innings while the other batsmen played aggressively around him. With a touch of irony, Akram joked that Babar had taken his advice too literally, resulting in one of the slowest innings of his career.
Chasing a target of 321, Pakistan struggled early on, falling to 22 for 2 after Will O'Rourke's impressive bowling performance, which saw him dismiss both Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan cheaply. Fakhar Zaman, who had been injured while fielding during New Zealand's innings, came in to bat at number four but visibly struggled with his injury, impacting his fluency at the crease.
Despite Fakhar Zaman's evident discomfort, Babar Azam's batting lacked the necessary intent, allowing New Zealand to maintain their pressure on Pakistan. While Fakhar managed a slow 24 runs off 41 balls, Babar's innings was even more sluggish, reaching his fifty in 81 deliveries. He was eventually dismissed for 60 runs off 91 balls, failing to accelerate his scoring rate at any point. Although Salman Ali Agha and Khushdil Shah provided some late momentum, their efforts were not enough, and Pakistan ultimately fell short, losing the match by 60 runs.
Wasim Akram, during a TV show, shared a humorous anecdote to describe Babar's unusually cautious approach to the innings.
“There is a joke. A man had a fight with his wife and left the house in anger. When you’re angry, you tend to say impulsive things. He said, ‘I wish I were dead.’ And then he dies. He then asks the Almighty, ‘I just swore, and you took it seriously?. Likewise, I just spoke, and Babar took it too seriously," Akram said during the show.
Wasim Akram's humorous analogy about Babar Azam's slow knock caused left the panel including host Fakhar-e-Alam, Waqar Younis and Indian cricketers Cheteshwar Pujara and Nikhil Chopra in stitches.
Babar Azam's innings drew heavy criticism, especially as Pakistan's loss marked their first defeat in an ICC tournament at home in 29 years.
This defeat also puts Pakistan's Champions Trophy campaign in jeopardy. With a crucial match against arch-rivals India scheduled for Sunday, February 23 in Dubai, another loss could effectively eliminate Pakistan from the tournament.
Meanwhile, Pakistan have suffered a big blow ahead of the all-important clash against India as their star opener Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the remainder of the Champions Trophy after picking injury during match against New Zealand. PCB has announced Imam Ul Haq as Fakhar Zaman's replacement in Pakistan's Champions Trophy squad.
Pakistan's updated squad for Champions Trophy:
Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shah Afridi.