Danish Kaneria Questions Babar Azam's Intent: 'He Scores Run Against Zimbabwe'
Babar Azam has looked far from his best in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 as he earlier played a defensive innings of 64 (90) vs New Zealand in a 321-run chase, followed by a start against India which he couldn't convert.
Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria has said that Babar Azam has not scored runs for the longest time now but when he does, they only come against Zimbabwe, questioning the star batter’s intent and abilities.
Babar hasn’t looked at his best in the ongoing Champions Trophy as he played a defensive 90-ball 64-run knock against New Zealand in a massive 321-run chase.
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Babar began with some crisp shots against India and looked to set himself up for a big one, before getting an outside edge to be dismissed caught behind.
“Babar has not scored runs for so long. But when he scores, it is against Zimbabwe or smaller teams. If he scores against big teams. So, there is no intent at all," Kaneria said while speaking to ANI.
Babar lost his top rank in ODIs to star India batter Shubman Gill, having bagged the pole position two years ago. Over the last two years, Babar has scored 1442 runs in 35 innings at an average of 45 and a strike rate of 82.49, which is the third-worst amongst players who have scored more than 1000 runs in the same period.
“There is no depth in the batting. Salman Agha and Khushdil Shah make some contributions sometimes. Saud Shakeel is a technically correct batter. But Rizwan’s bat seems to have stopped working," Kaneria said.
Pakistan lost their first two games against New Zealand and India and got knocked out of the Champions Trophy after Bangladesh’s loss to New Zealand.
They have their last match remaining against Bangladesh on February 27 in Rawalpindi.
There is a lot of disappointment and anger in the Pakistan Cricket Board over the exit of the national team from the tournament but it has decided to remain silent on the side’s affairs until the end of the Champions Trophy on March 9.
According to reports, the officials were hurt at the way the team performed in the Champions Trophy, against arch-rivals India especially.
Reports add that the Pakistan Cricket Board sees the successful hosting of the tournament as the gateway to bringing more international events to the country. Kaneria had earlier said that PCB was so busy in improving infrastructure, that they forgot to select a good team for the tournament.
For more in-depth coverage of the Champions Trophy, check out the latest Points Table to see where your favorite team stands. Stay updated on the tournament’s top performers with the Most Runs and Most Wickets leaderboards. Keep following for all the latest updates!
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