File photo of Babar Azam© X (Twitter)
As Pakistan cricket goes through one of its toughest periods, Babar Azam is one player who is in the thick of criticism the men's national team is getting. A 0-2 Test series defeat at the hands of Bangladesh at home is being labelled as the national team's worst in the longest format by many. One of the reasons behind Pakistan's poor show on the 22-yard pitch is the underperformance of top players like Babar Azam. While many former Pakistan cricketers have criticised Babar over the last few weeks, Basit Ali advised the star batter to get married.
"Babar Azam, talk to your parents and get married. He will be a completely different man after that. I know how a player feels when he is not performing well. I request Babar's parents to get him to marry. Like an elder brother, I want him to tell him Shaadi kar le bhai, ab umar zyada ho gayi hai teri (Get married brother, you are now old enough)," Basit Ali said in a video on his YouTube channel.
After the conclusion of last year's ODI World Cup, Pakistan toured Australia for a three-match Test series. Pakistan endured a whitewash after being outplayed in all facets of the game. After the conclusion of the series, Pakistan's batters were left exposed following their performances. Babar was among the players who came under the scrutiny of fans as well as former cricketers. During the three Tests, Babar mustered up 126 runs at an average of 21.
Before the T20 World Cup, Pakistan toured England to play four T20Is. In two matches, Babar racked up 68 runs across his name at an average of 34.00. In the T20 World Cup, Babar once again was left exposed after falling short with his bat. In four matches, he garnered 122 runs at an average of 40.66.
But he was heavily criticised for his below-par strike rate of 101.66. In their recently-concluded 2-match Test series against Bangladesh, in four innings, Babar produced just 64 runs from his bat.
"This is a wake-up call for Pakistan cricket. They can't go lower than this. Now, it's the time to rise and open your eyes. If you still don't open your eyes after losing to Bangladesh, play Test series only against Nepal and Afghanistan. Pakistan have learned a lesson and it will benefit them," Latif said.