"I Was Joking": Wasim Akram Takes Back Advice, Mocks Babar Azam's Slow Knock With Hilarious Joke
Wasim Akram was not at all pleased regarding Babar Azam's innings as New Zealand beat Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 opener.
Babar Azam drew a lot of criticism for the pace of his innings as Pakistan slumped to a 60-run defeat against New Zealand in their opening game of Champions Trophy 2025. Chasing a daunting target of 321, Pakistan endured a terrible first 10 overs where they managed only 22 in the first 10 overs, losing two wickets as well. Babar - who ultimately made 64 off 90 balls - was heavily criticised by experts and fans alike for his slow knock. Legendary former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram made a hilarious joke to mock Babar's innings.
Appearing on the post-match show of the 'Sports Central' channel, Akram was reminded of his request to Babar to play long without worrying about strike rate. Akram responded to it by referring to an age-old joke.
"There's a joke, that, when a man argues with his wife, he leaves the house and hurls curses like 'I want to die'. But God actually listened to him and took his life, the man told God, 'I was joking. Why did you take it seriously?'," said Akram.
"Just like that, I was also joking about my statement regarding Babar. Why did he have to take it so seriously?" he joked.
Wasim Bhai is back !!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/fIINj93e4c
— Zak (@Zakr1a) February 20, 2025
Babar's knock came painfully slowly in circumstances that required Pakistan batters to show intent and take risks while batting. He reached his half-century in 81 balls, a strike rate of only 61.7.
Pakistan lost the wickets of Saud Shakeel and captain Mohammad Rizwan before the 10th over, leaving them at 22/2 with nearly 300 more to get in just 40 overs. However, Babar could not up the ante. In fact, Babar failed to strike a single boundary for 16 overs, between the 16th and the 32nd over.
Akram did not hide his true emotions regarding the performances of experienced players like Babar and Rizwan.
"Look, if you want me to be brutally honest, I can be. In our culture, we are like 'these are our kids, don't criticise'. It's very normal here. But I think these are our best players. If there were someone better than them, they would've been selected," Akram stated.
Pakistan managed to reach close to New Zealand's total after a couple of fiery knocks by middle order batters Salman Ali Agha (42 off 28) and Khushdil Shah (69 off 49). However, the first 10 overs and Babar's poor strike rate ensured that Pakistan ultimately fell well short.
Pakistan next face arch-rivals India in Dubai on February 23.
Pakistan Cricket Team
Babar Azam