'Arshdeep ended career of Babar': Pakistan captain trolled after another failure in T20 WC

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been under severe pressure after failing to score in double digits for the fourth consecutive match in the T20 World Cup 2022. After registering scores of 0, 4 and 4 in his first three games, the 28-year-old only managed to score six runs from 15 deliveries against South Africa, in what is a must-win game for Pakistan if they are to progress to the semi-finals of the competition. Following another 'masterclass' performance, Babar was heavily trolled on social media.

Pakistan vs South Africa: Fans mock Babar Azam

Babar has received severe criticism from ex-cricketers

Following his dismal run at the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been subject to severe criticism from former cricketers not just because of his batting but also for the way he has led the side. The 28-year-old has been lambasted for being 'selfish' and not prioritizing what is important for the team.

For example, Gautam Gambhir criticized Babar during the Pakistan vs Netherlands game on commentary by stating, "In my opinion, first, you think about your team instead of yourself; if nothing goes according to your plan, you should have sent Fakhar Zaman up the batting order. This is called selfishness; as a captain, it is easy to be selfish. It is easy for Babar and Rizwan to open the innings for Pakistan and create so many records. If you want to be a leader, you have to think about your team."

Similarly, Wasim Akram added on A Sports' show, The Pavillion, "I have been through this by the way with Babar, at Karachi Kings. In the team, we had a couple of bad seasons and I requested him once or twice nicely, that please come down at number 3, we'll try something different. Let Martin Guptill bat at the top, seeing he is an opener. And he (Babar) said I would not go down, you ask Sharjeel to bat at 3, and he (Sharjeel) is a natural opener too."

While Pakistan are yet not eliminated from the T20 World Cup 2022, their destiny to make it to the semi-finals does not lie in their hands even if they were to win both their games. For example, even if Pakistan were to beat both South Africa and Bangladesh in their last two games, they could still be eliminated if the Proteas defeat the Netherlands and India beats Zimbabwe in their final group stage games.