Ashwin takes jibe at Babar Azam’s knock in New Zealand game

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took a jibe at Pakistan batter Babar Azam over his inning in the PAK v NZ game at the Champions Trophy 2025.

The right-handed batter received severe backlash over his 64 runs off 90 balls as Pakistan were put to chase 321 in their opening game against New Zealand on February 19.

The former Pakistan batter struggled throughout his inning as he managed to score just 12 runs off 27 balls in the first ten overs of the PAK v NZ game.

Consequently, Pakistan were bowled out for 260 and lost the game by 60 runs to start their Champions Trophy 2025 on a dismal note.

Reacting to his inning, Ravichandran Ashwin lamented the lack of intent from the former Pakistan captain, saying that he did not take a risk throughout his inning in the side’s opening game at the Champions Trophy 2025.

“I want to say one thing about Babar Azam is a very talented cricketer. But people should not get angry that I have criticised him. Yesterday also, he played a fantastic cover drive. But, the result of the entire game cannot be made by one cover drive. It has to be played completely. I understand that if a batsman is out of form or gets out because it’s a sport. I don’t know how to phrase it. But where was his intent? Did he keep it at home? I don’t know what he did,” said Ashwin while speaking on his YouTube channel.

While acknowledging that the ball spun in the second inning of the PAK v NZ game, the former India spinner was of the view that Babar Azam did not try any other shot to counter the spin bowlers.

“The wicket was a bit difficult as the ball was spinning a bit but it was staying low. There were two off-spinners bowling and Babar Azam did not try to hit one single ball by coming forward. He came forward on the wrong ball. When Bracewell and Phillips were bowling by keeping one short square leg, he did not play lap sweep against those bowlers,” Ashwin said.

The former India spinner raised concerns about the former Pakistan batter’s shots arsenal, saying that the inning looked like he did not have the ability to play any shot other than cover drive.

“I was having a doubt in my mind whether Babar Azam is playing because of confidence or he does not have shots like sweep, reverse sweep and not playing cut well. He was only playing cover drive,” Ashwin added.