'Babar Azam Finish Nahi Kar Paaya'; Blame Game In Pakistan Camp As Shaheen Afridi Reacts After Loss In 3rd T20I Vs New Zealand

Babar Azam shone for Pakistan for the third consecutive time but failed to close the game for visitors. Shaheen Afridi has now reacted to the losses vs New Zealand.

Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi. (Image: X)

Babar Azam struck his third consecutive fifty in the T20I series vs New Zealand in Dunedin. However, his knock went in vain as Pakistan lost the match by 45 runs. Babar has smashed 181 runs in 3 innings at an average of 60.33 with a strike rate of 157.39. His good show is a great news for Pakistan as the batter was struggling for runs recently in Australia during the Test series. 

Shaheen Afridi praised Babar for his performances so far but rued the fact that he could not finish the games for the team, saying that Babar needed someone to stand with him at the other end. Shaheen did not mince his words and said that in all the three games, there was no one who tried to stay with Babar till the end.

"I had said it earlier as well that Babar was not out of form. We cannot judge him on the basis of a few innings. He has played three fine innings in three matches in the series. He could not finish the matches in our favour. He needed someone at the other end to take the innings deeper. If there was another batter at the other end with Babar, we could have finished the game in our favour," said Shaheen.

New Zealand win the third T20I by 45 runs.#NZvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/NIvCdCZy3T — Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) January 17, 2024

The Pakistan captain also blamed the bowling for not stepping up in the series. Shaheen added that this team will require some time to get going. He also defended Haris Rauf's poor show. Haris went for 60 runs off his four overs while he picked two wickets. Shaheen argued that even New Zealand bowlers went for 50 runs and that on such smallers grounds in New Zealand, a bowler is always mentally prepared for these bad days. 

Shaheen may be having a tough time as captain in this series but he feels it is important to continue to back the new players in the squad. Shaheen said that Saim Ayub is still very young and he sees him as the next star of Pakistan cricket. He also defended Azam Khan's selection, stating that wicketkeeper and batter has been the best performer in the domestic cricket. 

Before signing off, Shaheen hinted that he is going to give the benchwarmers a go in the 4th T20I as Pakistan aims to try out as many players as possible ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.