Kris Srikkanth rips into Babar Azam, calls for his retirement in T20Is: 'You can't do this tuk-tuking all the time...'
Even though Babar Azam is the leading run-getter in T20Is, Kris Srikkanth wants the Pakistan skipper to retire from the format.
Babar Azam was castigated by Krishnamachari Srikkanth as the former India opener demanded the T20I resignation of the Pakistan skipper following the flop show of the Green Army at the ICC World Cup 2024 on Sunday. Before Babar aced the chase for the 2009 champions in their final fixture of the ICC event, Srikkanth urged the under-fire batter to avoid playing the shortest format of the game.
Pakistan, last edition's runners-up, suffered a premature exit from Group A in the 2024 T20 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States of America and former champions West Indies. With Babar at the helm, Pakistan finished behind arch-rivals India and co-hosts USA in Group A. Pakistan's exit from the T20 World Cup occurred prior to its final Group A fixture against Ireland. Babar and Co. were knocked out of the World Cup after the rain abandoned the USA's game against Ireland.
'Don't think Babar should be playing T20 cricket': Srikkanth
Speaking to Star Sports in the lead-up to Pakistan's final group game against Ireland, Srikkanth launched a scathing attack on the Pakistan skipper. "Babar Azam, I don't think he should be playing T20 cricket. Maybe a good/great Test cricketer. But I don't think he should be playing T20, in my opinion, frankly speaking. I mean, you can't do this ‘tuk-tuking’ all the time in T20 cricket. You talk about stats, they say 4000 runs - Babar, 4000 runs - Virat Kohli, 4000 runs - Rohit Sharma. Man, his strike rate is only 112-115! What are you talking about?,” Srikkanth said.
Babar powers Pakistan to nervy win over Ireland
Rescuing Pakistan from another batting collapse, Babar remained unbeaten to help the former champions salvage some pride against Ireland. Babar scored 32 off 34 balls as Pakistan chased down the 107-run target in 18.5 overs. Ireland reduced Pakistan 95-7 before Babar revived the run chase of the Asian giants. Pakistan skipper Babar batted at a strike rate of 94.12.
How Babar performed in T20 World Cup
The Pakistan captain smashed only two fours in his match-winning knock against Ireland at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground. Babar finished his campaign with 122 runs in four games at the T20 World Cup. The former World No.1 batter averaged 40.66 for the Green Army in the ICC event. During the group stage of the ICC event, Babar surpassed Virat Kohli to become the all-time leading run-getter in the history of the shortest.
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