PSL: 'Looking for a hundred over team", Simon Doull slams Babar Azam's individualistic approach

Pakistan captain Babar Azam scored his first century in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) against the Peshawar Zalmi at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on Wednesday (March 8). Babar reached his milestone in 60 balls, contributing to his team's massive total of 240.

Doull slams Babar's approach

While the crowd applauded Babar's ton, New Zealand commentator Simon Doull was not impressed with his performance. Doull did not mince words when criticising Babar's approach, stating unequivocally that the Peshawar captain was not putting the team's interests first.

"Looking for a hundred than putting the team first. The last little while thats all that has happening rather than looking for boundaries still when you have so much firepower to come. Hundreds are great, stats are brilliant but it must still be team first," Doull said in a brutual on-air rant.

A sudden blip in Babar's scoring rate validated Doull's point. The Pakistani superstar had reached 83 runs in 46 balls but only 17 runs in the next 14 balls before completing his century in 60 balls. During this time, Babar had only two boundaries, one of which was the shot that completed his tonne. Babar accelerated after reaching the milestone, finishing his knock with a score of 115 in 65 balls.

Doull's words proved true as Gladiators cruised to the target, with Jason Roy scoring 145 off 63 balls and remaining unbeaten on the crease as his team won by eight wickets with 10 balls to spare. Mohammed Hazeef scored 41 runs in 18 balls.

Published on: Thursday, March 09, 2023, 10:36 AM IST