Legendary cricketer Wasim Akram has issued a noteworthy response to Gautam Gambhir after the former Indian opener launched a scathing attack on Pakistan skipper Babar Azam amid the ongoing edition of the ICC World T20 2022. With Pakistan staring at the exit door after back-to-back defeats in the Super 12 stage, the onus was on premier batter Babar to lead the Green Army with an example in their group game against the Netherlands.
However, Babar failed to play an influential role in Pakistan's first win at the T20 World Cup on Sunday. The talismanic batter of the Green Army had another forgetful outing with willow and his leadership even invited criticism from former Indian cricketer Gambhir during Pakistan's match against the Netherlands. Castigating Babar during the commentary of the World Cup match, Gambhir branded the star batter as a ‘selfish’ captain.
During a discussion on Pakistani channel A Sports, Akram was asked to share his views about Gambhir's explosive remarks about the Pakistan captain. "Gautam Gambhir made a strong statement about Babar Azam's captaincy. He in fact, in his commentary, said that Babar could not have been so selfish and promoted Fakhar Zaman," the anchor noted.
Taking cognisance of the question, Akram respected Gambhir's remarks and asserted that the former Indian opener is entitled to his own opinion. “That's his opinion. Gautam Gambhir himself being a successful captain in IPL (Indian Premier League). Winning twice with KKR. One of the top players of his time, everybody is, I suppose has a right to give their opinion. And that's his opinion,” Akram said.
{{/usCountry}}Taking cognisance of the question, Akram respected Gambhir's remarks and asserted that the former Indian opener is entitled to his own opinion. “That's his opinion. Gautam Gambhir himself being a successful captain in IPL (Indian Premier League). Winning twice with KKR. One of the top players of his time, everybody is, I suppose has a right to give their opinion. And that's his opinion,” Akram said.
{{/usCountry}}Gambhir had lashed out at Babar for not sending Fakhar Zaman up the batting order during Pakistan's run-chase of the paltry total posted by the Dutch side. Zaman scored 20 off 16 balls while opener Babar perished for 4 off 5 balls in Pakistan's comfortable 6-wicket win over the Netherlands at the Perth Stadium.
“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 had said.