Aakash Chopra slammed Babar Azam’s captaincy during Pakistan’s 2023 World Cup defeat to South Africa.
After electing to bat first in Chennai on Friday, October 27, the Men in Green set the Proteas a 271-run goal. Temba Bavuma and company nearly eliminated Pakistan from the competition by chasing down the score with one wicket and 16 deliveries to spare.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Chopra discussed the game and stated that Babar’s captaincy contributed to Pakistan’s loss. He stated:
“When the match was going on, it was first eight wickets and then it became nine wickets, the only thing going on in my mind was what was that captaincy. At least tell what were you trying. You allowed singles. It didn’t make any sense and you had to pay for it in the end.”
Aakash Chopra
The former India opener questioned Pakistan’s strategy of offering easy singles to lower-order hitters. He explained:
“So many overs were left and your main bowlers’ overs were about to end. Only spin was left after that. But you kept all the options open for singles, that you will keep four or five players in the circle and rest to man the boundary.”
Aakash Chopra
Chopra stated that Babar should have been more aggressive with his fields. He went on to say:
“What will you gain from that? If you were thinking that they would play till the end and then you might save it, which world are you in? It was totally beyond my understanding. How were you not keeping a slip for your main bowlers and extra fielders within the circle?”
Aakash Chopra
If the on-field umpire had declared Tabraiz Shamsi leg-before-wicket off Haris Rauf’s bowling, Pakistan would have won the game. Although Babar disputed the judgment, it was upheld because the ball striking the wickets was determined to be an umpire’s call.
“Nawaz always finds himself in a difficult situation” – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra ended by noting that Mohammad Nawaz has repeatedly been the unlucky bowler who has conceded the winning runs. He noticed:
“Nawaz’s fate is also like that. Hardik Pandya hit one day on the Dubai ground. Then Ravichandran Ashwin hit it at the Melbourne ground. Here, Keshav Maharaj hit it, this was the Chennai ground. Nawaz always finds himself in a difficult situation.”
Aakash Chopra
When South Africa needed five runs to win and all of Pakistan’s pacers had bowled their allotted overs, Babar Azam had to select between Nawaz and Usama Mir. After Shamsi took a single from the opening ball, he chose the left-arm spinner, who was hit for a boundary by Keshav Maharaj.