Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria lambasted Babar Azam for his stubbornness and suggested him to learn from ‘selfless’ Virat Kohli.
The leg-spinner reckoned that the Pakistan captain should stop being ‘stubborn’ about opening as his slow starts are doing a lot of harm to Pakistan cricket.
The opening batter of Pakistan has been at the centre of stern criticism for his underwhelming performance in the bygone T20 World Cup 2022, where he could manage only 124 runs in seven matches at a poor average of 93.23.
Apart from the half-century that he scored against New Zealand in the semi-final match of the showpiece event, Babar Azam mostly looked out of form throughout the tournament.
“Babar Azam has been stubborn about not giving up his opening spot. The same happened when he was with Karachi Kings too. He is adamant about this because he cannot bat in the middle order. His stubbornness is only harming Pakistani cricket because of the slow starts,” Kaneria was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.
When it comes to being selfless, there is no one like Virat Kohli: Kaneria
The 41-year-old further lavished praise on former India captain Virat Kohli and highlighted how he had to bear the burden of India’s group-stage exit in the T20 World Cup last year.
The former cricketer also reckoned how several fans wanted team India to drop him during his lean patch. Notably, Kohli brushed aside his poor form before the T20 World Cup and came out all guns blazing in the marquee event.
He was the highest scorer of the tournament, having piled up 296 runs in six matches at a staggering average of 98.67 and a strike rate of 136.41 with four half-centuries to his name.
His unbeaten knock of 82 runs off just 53 balls against Pakistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground marks his highest score in the tournament.
“When it comes to being selfless, there is no one like Virat Kohli. The team lost the World Cup under his captaincy, and he was made the scapegoat after that.”
“Many raised questions about his place in the team. But he didn’t give up. He gave his full support to the new captain and played at the number he asked him to,” he added.
