This collage of images exhibits Pakistani cricketers Babar Azam (left), Mohammad Rizwan (centre) and Shaheen Shah Afridi. — Fb/Sydney Sixers/Melbourne Renegades/ Brisbane Warmth
Pakistan’s star trio of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi made forgettable Large Bash League (BBL) debuts, drawing combined reactions from cricket followers on Monday.
Babar, who was instantly signed by the Sydney Sixers forward of the gamers’ public sale, didn’t stay as much as the hype created by the franchise because the star batter scored a scratchy two off 5 deliveries within the curtain raiser in opposition to Perth Scorchers on Sunday on the Optus Stadium.
The correct-handed batter survived a scare on the third supply he confronted as he lobbed a hard-length supply, bowled by Joel Paris, briefly into the air, however it fell between the 2 fielders stationed at mid-wicket and mid-on.
The 31-year-old, nonetheless, tried the same shot on the fifth supply he confronted and was ultimately caught at mid-on, strolling out after scoring two off 5 deliveries.
Former Pakistan white-ball captain Rizwan, representing Melbourne Renegades within the BBL 15, had an equally underwhelming outing with the bat as he fell for a 10-ball 4 within the ongoing fixture in opposition to Brisbane Warmth.
The innings additionally noticed Pakistan’s ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi being taken away from the assault after bowling two over-the-waist-height no-balls in the identical over.
Shaheen, who conceded 9 and 19 in his first two overs, respectively, had an abrupt ending to his third, and thus completed with dismal bowling figures of 0/43 in 2.4 overs.
The star trio’s undesirable begin to their respective BBL careers drew widespread criticism from cricket followers, who flocked to social media to precise their frustration.
A cricket fan, bearing the username Shoaib Niazi, on X termed their struggles as a “horrible” begin for Pakistan cricketers typically.
“Horrible start for Pakistani players in BBL .. first Babar and now Rizwan and Shaheen,” he wrote on the microblogging web site.
One other cricket fan, bearing the username Maaz, claimed that the trio was “exposed” after being overhyped by their respective BBL franchise, whereas additionally holding them answerable for the Pakistan cricket crew’s downfall.
“BBL were hyping Babar, Shaheen , Rizwan non stop. All 3 of the overhyped stars got exposed in their first match. They need to do massive self reflection where [their] game is at currently and put their ego aside. PCT downfall started in last 2 years [because] of their under performance.”
For the unversed, a complete of seven Pakistan cricketers are representing totally different franchises within the ongoing fifteenth version of the BBL.
