'Babar Azam's captaincy is like a sacred cow that...': Hafeez tears into Pakistan skipper after India's MCG win at WC

Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has launched a scathing attack on Babar Azam after the Green Army suffered a heartbreaking loss at the hands of Rohit Sharma-led Team India in the Super 12 stage of the ICC World T20 2022 on Sunday. Virat Kohli played a gem of a knock to rescue India from a shocking top-order collapse as Rohit and Co. edged past Pakistan in the final-over thriller at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Babar's decision to save Mohammad Nawaz for the 20th over backfired as the Pakistani bowler failed to defend 16 runs off the last 6 balls of the enchanting encounter between the traditional rivals at the MCG. Lashing out at the Pakistani side after their demoralising defeat to bitter-rivals India, former all-rounder Hafeez questioned the captaincy credentials of the Pakistan skipper. Roped in a guest speaker on a popular Pakistani channel, Hafeez blasted Babar and argued why the leadership of the premier batter cannot be criticised in the cricket spectrum.

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"Babar Azam's captaincy is like a sacred cow that cannot be criticized. It's the third consecutive big game that we are seeing flaws in Babar captaincy, but we keep hearing that by the time he gets to the age of 32 he will learn. In today's match, from the 7th over till the 11th over, when India were struggling for even 4 runs an over, why did Babar not fulfil the spin quota overs in that time frame," Hafeez told Rahi Cricket.

Nawaz bagged two crucial wickets of Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik in the final over although India secured a famous win courtesy of Kohli's sublime knock in the high-voltage clash. Middle-order batter Ravichandran Ashwin smashed the winning run on the final ball of the contest to seal India's four-wicket win over the arch-rivals. Kohli, who smashed 82 off 53 balls was named the Player of the Match.

"Our bowlers bowled really well. All credit to Kohli and Pandya. It wasn't easy with the new ball. We had partnerships after 10 overs. We had a chance. We tried to stick to our plans. But credit to Virat Kohli. In the middle we decided we wanted a wicket and held the spinner back. We had a lot of positives. The way Iftikhar played and the way Shan played," Pakistan skipper Babar said after the match.