Published 16:34 IST, September 17th 2020
Babar Azam hits back at critics with 114* for Somerset in Vitality T20 Blast; watch video
Babar Azam, who was under the scanner for failing to perform in the Vitality T20 Blast, shut his critics down by scoring a brilliant century against Glamorgan.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Pakistan limited-overs skipper Babar Azam is one of the leading batsmen in the world across formats right now. The Pakistan international has been in sensational form since making his international debut and is scoring runs at will. Babar Azam is currently in the top five of the ICC rankings across all three formats and is the only player to do so. The elegant right-hander is ranked No. No. 2 in T20Is, No. 3 in ODIs and No. 5 in the purest form of the game.
Vitality T20 Blast: Babar Azam T20 century against Glamorgan shuts critics up
Babar Azam is currently representing Somerset in the Vitality T20 Blast in England. The Pakistan international had a forgettable first four matches where he could just manage 58 runs. Prior to that, Babar Azam had scored three half-centuries against England (two in tests and one in T20Is) but wasn't able to convert those into big hundreds. Due to his international form and mediocre performances in the Vitality T20 Blast, Babar Azam had come under severe criticism.
The Pakistan T20I captain was trolled mercilessly for not performing according to T20 standards. However, Babar Azam has hit back at critics and how. The 25-year old smashed a scintillating century, which was also the fourth ton of his T20 career, while playing in a North group match against Glamorgan in Cardiff on Wednesday.
Babar Azam reached his fifty off 34 balls in the 11th over. The flamboyant batsman then decided to up the ante as he scored the next fifty runs in just 23 balls to bring up a staggering century. He guided Somerset to a massive total of 183/3 in 20 overs as he remained unbeaten on a career-best score of 114 (62). His innings was laced with nine fours and five sixes.
Babar Azam scored a brilliant century just a day after he was trolled mercilessly after he struggled to score in Tuesday’s game against Gloucestershire where he could manage only 10 runs off 17 balls. Gloucestershire took to Twitter and trolled Babar Azam by uploading a video where the talented batsman is struggling to bat against David Payne. Gloucestershire captioned the video, ‘Rankings don’t matter on the pitch’.
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ICC T20I rankings: Babar Azam dethroned as No. 1 batsman in T20Is
Dawid Malan dethroned Babar Azam, to grab the 'Numero Uno' spot in the latest ICC T20I rankings for batsmen. Azam had occupied the top spot in the shortest format back in early 2018 and had been on a roll in the T20I format since then. However, Malan's consistent performances in the previous two series against Pakistan and Australia respectively meant that Babar Azam had to be satisfied being the second-best batsman in a format where he looked invincible.
In the recently released ICC T20I rankings by the governing body of world cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC), English T20I specialist batsman Dawid Malan has taken the top spot with 877 rating points while Pakistan's limited-overs skipper Babar Azam has been pushed to the second spot with 869 points.
Babar Azam net worth
According to cloudnetworth.com, the Babar Azam net worth is $4 million. The Babar Azam net worth comprises of his income from being an international cricket player for Pakistan, his PSL salary and several brand endorsements. The Babar Azam net worth also includes his earnings from several brands like Head & Shoulders, HBL, Oppo, Huawei among others.
IMAGE COURTESY: SOMERSET CRICKET TWITTER
Updated 16:34 IST, September 17th 2020
