Former India opening batter Gautam Gambhir was critical of Babar Azam's captaincy during Pakistan's must-win game against Netherlands in the T20 World Cup on Sunday. Pakistan had lost their first two games to India and Zimbabwe respectively, and needed a win over the Netherlands to stay in contention for a semi-final berth. Pakistan bowlers stepped up under pressure, restricting Netherlands to a paltry total of 91/9. In reply, Pakistan lost the wicket of Babar early, before Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman took Pakistan closer to the target.
Rizwan was dismissed on 49 after Zaman (20), who was making a comeback into the side after an injury lay-off, had perished earlier.
Although Pakistan eventually won the game after a few hiccups, Gambhir felt that Babar should have put the team's interests first, adding that he could have asked Zaman to open the innings, instead of himself.
Gambhir added that it's easier to get selfish, especially when you are the captain of the team. "In my opinion, first, you think about your team instead of yourself; if nothing goes according to your plan, you should have sent Fakhar Zaman up the batting order. This is called selfishness; as a captain, it is easy to be selfish. It is easy for Babar and Rizwan to open the innings for Pakistan and create so many records. If you want to be a leader, you have to think about your team," Gambhir was quoted as saying during commentary by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan will take on South Africa in their next match on Thursday, and a defeat will end their hopes of reaching the semi-finals.