The latest loss of Pakistan Cricket team against India on the Champions Trophy 2025 has opened a can of worms. Pakistan has not won ODI match against India since the 2017 final. And with the loss on Sunday, Pakistan runs the risk of being beaten out of the Champions Trophy 2025, a tournament that they organize, from the group phase itself. And Babar Azam (23, 26b) seems to bear the most important victim.
During his first years, Babar Azam was often compared to Virat Kohli, but as the years passed, the gap between the two increased the manifold. After his last failure, the former Pakistan Pace star Shoaib Akhtar hard on Babar Azam and gave the example of Virat Kohli.
“Let's try to summarize Virat Kohli. Now tell me, who is the hero of Virat Kohli? Sachin Tendulkar has scored 100 centuries, and Virat has followed his legacy,” Akhtar said on PTV sport.
“Who is the hero of Babar Azam? Tuk Tuk (without calling a cricket player). You have chosen the wrong heroes. Your thinking process is wrong. You were a fraud from the start. You were caught in from the start. You have it in The ICC Champions Trophy itself that 'I have become number 1 for one and a half days.
Shoaib akhtar explore the Virat Kohli way of versions.@shoaib100mph @Zabbasoffic @Imsikandarb#Championstrophy2025 #DilseCricket #Gameonhai pic.twitter.com/ygmimkkf71
– PTV Sports (@PTVSP0RTS) February 23, 2025
India Batting Stalwart Virat Kohli showed a heart-warming gesture to Babar Azam when he knocked on the back of the former Pakistan skipper on Sunday for the high-ooctane competition of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in the Dubai International Stadium.
The two batters were seen who exchanged polite features and spoke to each other when Babar walked to the middle with fellow opener Imam-Uhq.
Netizens quickly noticed the friendly light moment, while photos and video of De Korte Meet Viralon Social Media quickly went. One user wrote 'Friendship' while the other said: “That's why we love Kohli.”
Kohli and Babar are currently two of the biggest batters in World Cricket, but the latter is currently undergoing a lean patch.
During the tour of India through England in 2022, when Kohli struggled with his form, Babar went to social media to share a photo of them during a competition together with the message: “This will also pass”. Virat responded quickly to Babar's support on X and wrote: “Thank you. Keep shining and rising. I wish you the very best,” he wrote.
Previously, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan won the Worp and chose to hit first. India's Frontline Pacers Shami and Harshit Rana remain Wicketless in their opening spells before Hardik Pandya left the first breakthrough with an expensive resignation of Babar Azam in the ninth. After scoring 23 runs of 23, Babar left with the help of five four. Later a direct hit by Axar Patel Imam-Ul-Haq returned to the pavilion for 10 out of 26.
It is a must-win meeting for Pakistan to keep their semi-final hope from group A after losing New Zealand with 60 runs in the tournament opener in Karachi. On the other hand, India started their campaign with a six-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
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