Pakistani skipper Babar Azam hammered by Former Indian cricketer
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Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir didn't hold back his criticism when evaluating Babar Azam's captaincy during Pakistan's Super Four loss to Sri Lanka in the 2023 Asia Cup held in Colombo last Thursday. While discussing the match on Star Sports, Gambhir expressed his discontent with Babar's tactics, particularly focusing on the critical closing overs of the game. According to Gambhir, "Babar's captaincy appeared quite ordinary to me. There were two instances where fours were hit over mid-off - one in Zaman Khan's over and the other in Shaheen Shah Afridi's over, both deliveries being slower ones." Gambhir believed that Babar should have adjusted the field placements when slower deliveries were being bowled. He emphasized, "When you plan to bowl slower deliveries, it's essential to position the mid-off fielder at long-off and bring the third man fielder up. This is a basic aspect of captaincy. Just imagine if there were 13 runs needed in the last over; it would have made it challenging for Sri Lanka," he further elaborated. Gambhir also raised questions about Babar's captaincy strategy during the century partnership between Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama.
