Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir didn't hold back in his assessment of Babar Azam's captaincy during Pakistan's recent loss to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 Super Four.
The match, which took place at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, ended in a nail-biting two-wicket victory for Sri Lanka via the DLS method off the final delivery, securing their spot in the final against India on Sunday.
During a candid discussion on Star Sports, Gambhir expressed his criticisms of Babar's captaincy tactics, particularly in the crucial closing overs of the game.
He highlighted that Babar should have focused on maintaining pressure rather than hunting for wickets in the closing overs, which might have altered the outcome of the game had crucial boundaries not been conceded.
"For me, extremely ordinary captaincy as well," Gambhir remarked. He pointed out specific instances during the match, saying, "There was a four hit in Zaman Khan's over over mid-off and there was another four hit in Shaheen Shah Afridi's over over mid-off, and both those deliveries were slower ones."
Gambhir argued that adjusting field placements when slower deliveries were being bowled should have been a straightforward decision. He stated, "If you want to bowl slower ones, keep the mid-off fielder at long-off and bring the third man up. This is extremely simple captaincy. Imagine if you had 13 runs left in the last over, it would have been difficult for Sri Lanka."
The former cricketer also questioned Babar's captaincy strategy during Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama's century partnership.
"You were allowing the game to drift at one stage. You wanted to complete your sixth bowler's quota. It doesn't work out like that. When the partnership was developing between Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, you should have brought on your main bowlers and tried to pick up wickets," Gambhir observed.
Gambhir suggested that a more aggressive approach in the middle overs, focusing on taking wickets, could have been Pakistan's key to victory, given the nature of the game. He concluded by stating that Babar needs to adapt his captaincy style, understanding that ODI cricket differs from T20 cricket in terms of strategy and approach.
"Pakistan could have won this game only by taking wickets. If Sri Lanka had batted till the end, they could have won earlier than they actually did. I feel Babar Azam will have to be slightly better in his captaincy as ODI cricket is not like T20 cricket," Gambhir emphasized.
The criticism from Gambhir has sparked discussions among cricket enthusiasts about Babar Azam's leadership and the strategies employed by the Pakistan cricket team in the Asia Cup 2023. As the tournament progresses, all eyes will be on Babar and his team's performance in their quest for redemption.
