“50 Off 60 Or 70 Is Of No Use”: Gautam Gambhir Rips Into Babar Azam

The Babar Azam-led Pakistan cricket team is in a tricky situation at the Cricket World Cup. They have lost against teams like India and Australia. The race to semi-final is still open but the Babar Azam-led side needs to win a series of matches to keep their path smooth in the last four race. Ahead of the Cricket World Cup, much was expected from Pakistan captain Babar Azam. Ranked among the top batters in the world, Babar Azam is often considered one of the best batting talents in the modern era. (World Cup 2023 points table)

However, so far in the World Cup ahead of Pakistan’s game against Afghanistan on October 23, Babar Azam’s list of scores read 5, 10, 50, 18. Against Afghanistan in Chennai, Babar was out for 74 off 92 balls. 

Former Indian cricket team opener Gautam Gambhir, who in the past praised Babar Azam, felt that the Pakistan cricket team captain’s display at the Cricket World Cup left much to be desired.   

“Babar Azam is under pressure, the entire team is under pressure. Babar has to deliver, because he has the reputation, he has class, he has ability. I picked Babar Azam in the top 5, I backed him to score 3-4 centuries on the pitches in India. Babar has the ability to do it even now,” Gambhir told Star Sports ahead of Pakistan’s game against Afghanistan on Monday.

“He has to score runs and make his team win because if he scored 50 off 60 or 70 balls or scored 80 off 120 balls, there is no use. The way he played against India, it gave me an impression that he put more pressure on the rest of the batting unit and he did not release the pressure.

“If you want the team to play aggressive cricket, you have to lead from the front. Babar has to play freely, he has to play out-of-the-box cricket, and even out-of-the-box captaincy if Pakistan is to make the semi-final,” he added.