PSL 2023: Simon Doull not happy with Babar Azam’s hundred against Quetta Gladiators
Babar Azam had scored his maiden PSL century against Quetta Gladiators and finished with a 65-ball 115
March 09, 2023
As Babar Azam’s hundred against Quetta Gladiators went in vain, commentator Simon Doull’s remarks during the Peshawar Zalmi skipper’s knock became the talk of the town.
The former New Zealand cricketer was left unimpressed with Babar’s batting approach.
Azam scored his maiden PSL century against the Gladiators and finished with a 65-ball 115. He reached his fifty with a maximum, taking 32 balls, and 28 more to convert that into a ton.
However, the last 20 runs leading up to his century did not come in a free-flowing manner since he was on 80 off 44 at one stage but took 16 more balls to get to the three-figure mark.
When Babar was on 99, he played a dot ball during the over by Naseem Shah, that was when Doull, who was on the mic, questioned the Zalmi skipper’s approach.
“The last little while, that’s all that has been happening rather than looking for boundaries still, when you’ve got so much firepower to come [Mohammad Haris, Haseebullah Khan and all-rounder Aamer Jamal were waiting in the wings],” said Doull.
“Hundreds are great, stats are brilliant, but it still must be team first.”
This is not the first time that Babar, who is also the national team skipper, has come under criticism from former players.
Earlier, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi and Imam-ul-Haq had questioned the prolific right-hander’s batting approach in the T20s.
“Babar is number one in the world, he is the identity of the country, but one thing that stops him from reaching the AB de Villiers/Virat Kohli rank is finishing. As a match-winner, he hasn’t proved himself yet. If I am wrong, you can correct me. I want him to become a finisher. He should finish games. That’s the thing holding back his class,” Afridi said while speaking on a local news channel.
“I would like to add…because I know him and this is spoken about in our discussions. Babar agrees with it too. He says: ‘I have played enough cricket, I need to bring more dominance and command in my game so that I finish matches and don’t leave them midway’. Lala [Afridi] is absolutely right,” Imam added.
