Now with New Zealand’s win against Bangladesh, Pakistan’s sorry campaign is over early in the Champions Trophy opening the door to even greater criticism, which was already exploding after the India loss.
After that match, Pakistan legend Shoaib Akhtar launched a brutal rant on live TV, particularly taking aim at superstar batter Babar Azam who was out for 23 off 26 balls.
“We always compare Babar Azam to Virat Kohli. Now tell me, who is the hero of Virat Kohli? Sachin Tendulkar has scored 100 centuries, and Virat is chasing his legacy,” Akhtar said on the show Game On Hai. “Who is Babar Azam’s hero? (No one). You have picked the wrong heroes.
“Your thought process is wrong. You were a fraud from the beginning.”
Mohammed Hafeez was also brutal in his assessment, saying there’s no comparison of Babar to Kohli.
“Babar Azam is not the true king. It is Virat Kohli,” he said
“Tell me Babar Azam, the best Pakistani product that has come in the past 10 years. Tell me his one good performance against India. Babar Azam is not Inzamam-ul-Haq.
“He used to win matches for Pakistan in difficult conditions. Babar Azam has not won a single match against India to date. He is playing for the past 10 years and has never become a player of the series in SENA countries. In Australia or England, he has never led Pakistan to victory.”
He then called on the PCB to move on from Babar.
“We need to realise that those who we are banking on are not performing and we should move on from them. Give the opportunity to them who are waiting in the system,” he said. (FOX Sports)