Sanjay Bangar slams Babar Azam's 'lack of intent' in defeat
What's the story
Former India cricketer and batting coach Sanjay Bangar has blamed Babar Azam for Pakistan's loss to New Zealand in the Champions Trophy opener.
"His (Babar Azam's) intent right at the start of the innings may have cost Pakistan the game," Bangar said on Star Sports.
NZ bowled out Pakistan for 260 while chasing a target of 321, eventually winning by 60 runs.
Additionally, the openers Saud Shakeel and Azam failed to leave a mark against New Zealand's bowlers.
Strategy critique
Azam's approach put pressure on teammates: Bangar
Bangar also criticized Azam's strategy during his innings, saying it put undue pressure on his teammates and allowed New Zealand's bowlers to dominate.
"Babar Azam, batsmen around him were trying to make an effort. No doubt the bowling was pretty disciplined, they bowled straighter lines, but he didn't try anything out of the ordinary to make sure that he disturbed the bowler's plan," Bangar said.
"So he let the bowlers dominate", he added.
Performance analysis
Azam's slow scoring rate impacted Pakistan's chase
While Azam did score a half-century off 81 balls, his slow scoring rate was viewed as detrimental to Pakistan's chase.
Bangar noted that "once you bat with that sort of intent in the first 60 or 70 balls, then suddenly find gears and start connecting the ball at the middle of the bat it certainly doesn't come that easy."
He implied that this approach may have cost Pakistan the game.
Expert opinions
Other experts echo Bangar's critique of Azam
Other cricket experts including former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif and Australian great Matthew Hayden also supported Bangar's criticism of Azam.
Kaif likened Azam's batting style to that of the 1980s, while Hayden asked why he lacked intent from the get-go.
Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin also spoke about Azam's slow batting, comparing it to the story of the tortoise and the rabbit.
Criticism
Cheteshwar Pujara criticizes Babar Azam's performance in Champions Trophy opener
Veteran Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara slammed Azam's performance in Pakistan's Champions Trophy opener against New Zealand.
Pujara, speaking on the cricket show "Dressing Room," highlighted Azam's lack of intent and poor footwork 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 stated.
"In one-day cricket, you need to bat with freedom, he is a natural stroke player," he added.
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).