Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz recalled the time former Pakistan captain Babar Azam was on the verge of tears after the Green Shirts’ defeat to Hashmatullah Shahidi’s side in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
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Pakistan lost to Afghanistan by eight wickets in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 fixture at Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium on October 23rd.
Pakistan scored 282-7 in their 50 overs with Babar Azam top-scoring with 72 and Abdullah Shafique and Iftikhar Ahmed hitting 58 and 40 respectively.
Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah and Rahmanullah Gurbaz struck fifties as Afghanistan completed the run chase in 49 overs.
Babar Azam and Rahmanullah Gurbaz became a talking point together on social after the Pakistan captain gifted his bat to the Afghanistan batter.
Wonderful gift 🏏 by a wonderful player and human being. Truly gentleman @babarazam258 . Chin up, stay strong and keep shining ❤️🫡 pic.twitter.com/2CoiEEblSZ
— Rahmanullah Gurbaz (@RGurbaz_21) October 25, 2023
Rahmanullah Gurbaz recalled his interaction with Babar Azam after the match. He admitted to empathizing with former Pakistan captain upon seeing his emotions.
“That moment I will never forget about Babar [Azam],” he said. “We beat Pakistan, and then I asked for his bat. Once he brought the bat, he was so disappointed and I can feel as a player.
“I can feel that you know, when you lost the game and then this, especially in this kind of situation. He was under so much pressure. I remember that I also felt emotional, he is one of the best players, one of the best captains, that much stress.”
He added, “Trust me, I was trying to not say this in front of the camera, but I want to say that he was about to cry. He was so disappointed, I have never seen any player like that.”
He saluted Babar Azam for not giving up when everyone was against him.
It is pertinent to mention that the right-handed batter stepped down as Pakistan’s all-format captain following the side’s elimination from the 50-over tournament.
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