'Living in Pakistan is like living in jail, grace of God I somehow escaped': Simon Doull

Kiwi cricketer-turned-broadcaster Simon Doull has become the talk of the town after making a few sensational revelations about his recent stay in Pakistan. Doull made headlines during the Pakistan Super League 2023 for pointing out Babar Azam’s selfish approach in the tournament. As reported by Geo News, the 53-year-old now finds himself in the headlines for claiming that he was mentally tortured during his stay in Pakistan.

“Living in Pakistan is like living in jail. I was not allowed to go out as Babar Azam fans were waiting for me. And I stayed in Pakistan without food for many days. Even I was mentally tortured but by the grace of God I somehow escaped from Pakistan,” said the former New Zealand cricketer.

"Hundreds are brilliant, stats are great, but it has to be team first"

Meanwhile, Simon Doull questioned Babar Azam’s selfish batting approach, during Peshawar Zalmi’s match against Quetta Gladiators in PSL 2023. While the Zalmi skipper reached the score of 83 runs in just 46 balls, he took another 14 balls to complete his century. This led to Doull criticizing Babar for chasing records, rather than looking to score boundaries.

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“Rather than putting the team first... the last little while, that's all that been happening. Rather than looking for boundaries, still, so much firepower to come. Hundreds are brilliant, stats are great, but it has to be team first,” Doull reportedly said on commentary. 

IPL 2023: Simon Doull's thoughts on Virat Kohli's knock during RCB vs LSG

It is worth noting that Doull recently criticized Royal Challengers Bangalore superstar Virat Kohli for a similar reason. As Kohli returned with a 61-run knock in 44 balls against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2023 on April 11, 2023, Doull felt the former RCB skipper used up too many deliveries while looking to complete his fifty. RCB ended up losing the match, despite Faf du Plessis’ 79* off 46 and Glenn Maxwell’s 59 off 29.

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“Virat Kohli started off like a train. He was hammering shots. But from 42 to 40 he took 10 balls. He's concerned about his personal milestone. I don’t think there’s room for that in this game anymore. You’ve just got to keep going, especially with wickets in hand at that stage. You’ve got to keep going,” Doull was heard saying while being on the commentary panel.