Cheteshwar Pujara criticizes Babar Azam's performance in Champions Trophy opener
What's the story
Veteran Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara has slammed Babar Azam's performance in Pakistan's Champions Trophy opener against New Zealand.
Chasing 321 in Karachi, Pakistan fell to a 60-run defeat in Karachi despite Azam's 64 off 90 balls.
Pujara, speaking on the cricket show "Dressing Room," highlighted Azam's lack of intent and poor footwork against spinners.
Here's what he said.
Analysis
Pujara dissects Azam's struggles against spinners
Pujara, who is known for his technical acumen, analyzed Azam's struggles against spinners.
He noted "Babar's footwork against the spinner was not good. He was not using his feet."
"He was waiting for the ball to come to him," Pujara added.
Suggestions
Pujara suggests Azam to bat with more freedom
Further, Pujara suggested that Azam needs to bat more freely during one-day cricket.
He stressed on the need to rotate the strike and hit boundaries, saying a strike rate of 70-80 is no longer enough.
"In one-day cricket, you need to bat with freedom, he is a natural stroke player. He needs to bat with more freedom. In the present time the strike rate of 70 and 80 are not good enough," he stated.
Criticism
Pujara criticizes Azam's defensive approach
Pujara slammed Azam's defensive mindset saying in one-day cricket, one should focus on winning the match instead of saving his wicket.
He observed Azam looked more worried about not getting out, which eventually put pressure on the next batters with dot balls piling up.
"In one-day cricket you can't be looking to save your own wicket instead you go to win the match. He was trying not to get out," Pujara said.
Expert opinions
Other experts echo Pujara's criticism of Azam
Other cricket experts including former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif and Australian legend Matthew Hayden supported Pujara's criticism of Azam.
Kaif likened Azam's batting style to that of the 1980s, while Hayden asked why he didn't show intent from the start.
Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also weighed in on Azam's slow knock, comparing it to a 'tortoise.'
Match recap
New Zealand tame Pakistan in ICC Champions Trophy opener
An all-round New Zealand side beat defending champions Pakistan in the first match of the ICC Champions Trophy in Karachi on Wednesday.
Centurions Will Young (107) and Tom Latham (118*) were brilliant, while Glenn Phillips scored a whirlwind knock (61) as New Zealand posted 320/5 in 50 overs.
In response, Azam (64) and Khushdil Shah's (69) fifties weren't enough as Pakistan (260/10) suffered a big defeat.
Stats
Azam's ODI stats at a glance
Azam recently surpassed the 6,000 ODI runs milestone and has now raced to 6,083 runs at 55.80.
Meanwhile, his 64 against NZ was his 35th half-century in the format, alongside his 19 tons.
He also boasts a strike rate of 87.91, including a high score of 158.
According to ESPNcricinfo, 1,597 runs of Azam have come at home at an average of 66.54.
Notably, the batter has now gone past 1,000 ODI runs against NZ, (1,009 runs).
Struggles
Azam's struggles adds to Pakistan's agony
In response to the Black Caps' massive 321-run target, the hosts lost their opener Saud Shakeel early in the fourth over.
However, Azam's batting did not do much to the scorecard as Pakistan lost their skipper in the 10th over and were reduced to a paltry 22/2 after 10 overs.
Meanwhile, Azam reached his fifty in the 31st over, off 81 balls. He finished with 64 off 90 balls, (six fours, one six), striking at just 71.11.