Wasim Akram said that today was not the day for Babar Azam to do it on the ground, especially after his side’s humiliating defeat. “That’s what I exactly said when I saw the picture. Today was not the day to do this. If you want to do it – if your uncle’s son has asked you to get Kohli’s shirt – then do it after the game in the dressing room,” Akram said on a TV show.
It is to be recalled that Babar Azam had supported Virat Kohli when he was going through a rough patch with the bat. “This too shall pass. Stay strong,” Babar Azam had said this on X in July 2022.
On Saturday, India beat Pakistan in an one-sided encounter. It was Men In Blue’s eighth consecutive victory over Pakistan in World Cups in a streak that began in 1992. Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets each as Pakistan crashed from 155-2 (29.3 overs) to 191 all out in 42.5 overs. Later, India skipper Rohit Sharma blazed a 36-ball half-century as India raced to the victory line with almost 20 overs to spare. Babar Azam had scored 50 off 58 balls.
After the match, Babar Azam rued Pakistan’s batting collapse, saying that it cost them the match. “We started well, good partnership. We just planned to play normal cricket and build partnerships. Suddenly there was a collapse and we could not finish well. Not good for us, the way we started, our target was 280-290 but the collapse cost us. The total was not good. We are not up to the mark with the new ball,” Babar said in a post-match presentation on Saturday.”The way Rohit played, was an outstanding innings. We just tried to take wickets, but that didn’t happen,” he said. Former captain Ramiz Raja, who was also the member of 1992 World Cup winning side along with Wasim Akram, has slammed Babar Azam-led side for their one-sided defeat. “It’s scarring, it’s a pasting, it’s a battering and they’ve been outpaced and outplayed in all the three departments,” Raja told the ICC Review Podcast.
Ramiz Raja admitted that Pakistan players go through immense pressure in a match against India. He urged Pakistan players to take a leaf out of India’s book in handling pressure in such marquee clashes.
“When you’re playing against India, it’s such an environment where it’s 99 per cent India fans and crowds, you’re obviously overwhelmed. I understand all of that.