Babar Azam Faces Brutal Fan Reactions After Two-Ball Duck On T20I Comeback | Cricket News

Babar Azam departed for a two-ball duck (Picture credit: AP)

Ace Pakistan batter Babar Azam was slammed heavily by fans after he scored a two-ball duck on his much-awaited return to T20Is, showing yet again why the selectors were forced to keep him out of the shortest format. On Tuesday, Babar was dismissed for a two-ball duck as his team took on South Africa in the opening T20I at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Coming in at No. 3, Babar fell to Corbin Bosch. The former came to the crease after Lizaad Williams dismissed Sahibzada Farhan, who made 24 off 19 deliveries in a 31-run opening partnership with Saim Ayub.

Chasing a challenging target of 195 to take a 1-0 lead in the series, Pakistan’s hopes suffered an early setback when their star batter fell cheaply.

Bosch delivered a brisk length ball on off-stump that struck the bat. Babar attempted to play across the line, but the ball caught the thick outside edge and flew straight to Reeza Hendricks at cover.

The Rawalpindi crowd was left stunned as Babar walked back without scoring. Fans criticised him, arguing that he shouldn’t be compared to elite Indian batter Virat Kohli. The latter, despite recording consecutive ducks against Australia in the recent ODI series, recovered with a composed half-century at the SCG. 

“Best thing of Babar Azam is , That he Never Disappoint Me😭😭,” a user tweeted on Tuesday night.

“Babar Azam would have won us the Asia Cup paijaan 🗣️Meanwhile Babar in his first T20I match on return—,” another user tweeted. 

Babar’s return to T20Is comes after Pakistan’s selectors revamped the team after three losses to India in the recent Asia Cup, including the final.