Babar Azam’s T20I comeback turns sour with a duck
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The entire Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium was left shell-shocked as Babar Azam fell for a duck on his return to the T20I side.
Babar Azam has a chance to prove himself to Pakistan's white-ball coach Mike Hesson during a Twenty20 cricket series against South Africa starting Tuesday. Babar needs just nine runs to break
Babar, who last played a T20 in December 2024 against South Africa, lasted only two balls and offered a tame catch to Hendricks in the covers inside the power play. His dismissal set social media ablaze. Here are some of the reactions:
Fans quickly took to social media to express their disappointment, with many pointing out that such errors are unexpected from a player of Babar’s caliber. Memes, sarcastic remarks, and playful jabs flooded X (formerly Twitter), reflecting the harsh scrutiny international cricketers face in the age of social media.
Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bowl first. In the first T20I at Rawalpindi Stadium, Salman Agha announced, to loud cheers from the local crowd, that Babar Azam was in the T20 XI for the first time since December 2024.
Shoaib Malik has questioned Pakistan’s T20I selection policy, criticizing the decision to drop Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan despite their replacements performing with similar strike rates.