Pakistan cricket team’s latest loss against India at the Champions Trophy 2025 has opened a can of worms. Pakistan have not won a single ODI game against India since the 2017 Champions Trophy final. And with the loss on Sunday, Pakistan are at the risk of getting knocked out of the Champions Trophy 2025, a tournament that they are hosting, from the group stage itself. And Babar Azam (23, 26b) seems to be bearing the major brunt of it.
During his initial years, Babar Azam was often compared to Virat Kohli but as the years passed by, the gap between the two has increased manifold. After his latest failure, former Pakistan pace star Shoaib Akhtar came down hard on Babar Azam, giving the example of Virat Kohli.
“Let’s try to sum up Virat Kohli a little bit. Now tell me, who is the hero of Virat Kohli? Sachin Tendulkar has scored 100 centuries, and Virat is chasing his legacy,” Akhtar said on PTV Sports.
“Who is Babar Azam’s hero? Tuk tuk (Without naming any cricketer). You have picked the wrong heroes. Your thought process is wrong. You were a fraud from the beginning. You were caught from the beginning. You made it clear in the ICC Champions Trophy itself that ‘I have become No. 1 for one and half days. You are no No. 1. You promoted the wrong people.”
Shoaib Akhtar explore the Virat Kohli way of performances.@shoaib100mph @ZAbbasOfficial @ImSikandarB#ChampionsTrophy2025 #DilSeCricket #GameOnHai pic.twitter.com/YgMiMkkf71
— PTV Sports (@PTVSp0rts) February 23, 2025
India batting stalwart Virat Kohli showcased a heartwarming gesture towards Babar Azam when he patted on the back of the former Pakistan skipper before the high-octane match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
The two batting stars were seen exchanging pleasantries and spoke with each other when Babar walked out to the middle along with fellow opener Imam-ul-Haq.
Netizens were quick to notice the friendly light-hearted moment as photos and video of the brief-meet quickly went viralon social media. One user wrote, “Friendship” while another said, “That’s why we love Kohli”.
Kohli and Babar are two of the biggest batters in world cricket at the moment, but the latter is currently undergoing a lean patch.
During India’s tour of England in 2022, when Kohli was struggling with his form, Babar took to social media to share a picture of them during a match along with the message, “This too shall pass”. Virat was quick to respond to Babar’s support on X and wrote, “Thank you. Keep shining and rising. Wish you all the best,” he wrote.
Earlier, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and opted to bat first. India’s frontline pacers Shami and Harshit Rana remain wicketless in their opening spells before Hardik Pandya provided the first breakthrough with a pricey dismissal of Babar Azam in the ninth over. Babar departed after scoring 23 runs off 23 with the help of five fours. Later, a direct hit from Axar Patel sent Imam-ul-Haq back to the pavilion for 10 off 26.
It is a must-win encounter for Pakistan to keep their semi-final hopes alive from Group A after losing to New Zealand by 60 runs in the tournament opener in Karachi. On the other hand, India started their campaign with a six-wicket win over Bangladesh.
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