It has been a disappointing out for Pakistan in the ongoing 2023 Cricket World Cup. While they are still in the qualification race for the knockout stage, a New Zealand win against Sri Lanka would dash their hopes of reaching the semis.
Amid a series of poor performances in the ongoing tournament, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has slammed skipper Babar Azam for not stepping up to save his team. Babar has had a lackluster World Cup having scored four half-centuries in eight appearances.
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What did Basit Ali say about Babar Azam?
In a talk show on ARY NEWS, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali called out Babar Azam for his failure at the World Cup and stated that the 28-year-old is not proven match-winner.
Babar Azam is not a match winner! He improvises his innings, builds on it, plays some shots and looks to finish the game in the end. He cannot hit a 40-ball century. In no ways is Babar a match-winner!.
Basit Ali called Fakhar Zaman and former cricketer Kamran Akmal as match-winners. He stated that Babar Azam plays the role of an anchor for Pakistan, and batsmen like him rarely act as match-winners.
The 52-year-old cited the lack of game-changers in the Pakistan squad for the current state of the team.
بابر اعظم میچ ونر تھوڑی ہے، باسط علی#ARYNews #CWC23 #WorldCup23 #BabarAzam pic.twitter.com/zXsfDzlbI7
— ARY NEWS (@ARYNEWSOFFICIAL) November 8, 2023
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How has Babar Azam performed at the ODI World Cup 2023?
Babar Azam has been a failure at the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. By his standards, the Pakistan Captain has not been able to play an influential hand in helping his team out.
Moreover, much of the current position of Pakistan in the points table is to be blamed on Babar's shoulders. Babar has not been able to spearhead his batting unit. Not to forget that Babar the captain has been haywire at times, too.
Babar has scored under 300 runs in eight outings at the World Cup. He is Pakistan's third-highest run-getter in the tournament, behind Muhammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique.
| Matches | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50s | 100s | High Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 282 | 40.28 | 82.69 | 0 | 74 |
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Who will win the 2023 World Cup?
India and Australia are among the favourites for the 2023 World Cup title. The odds from Dafabet are as follows.
| Team | Odds (Dafabet) |
|---|---|
| India | 2.00 |
| Australia | 4.50 |
| South Africa | 5.50 |
| New Zealand | 10.00 |
| Pakistan | 21.00 |
| Afghanistan | 67.00 |
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