[VIDEOS] The Babar Azam declaration on Day 5 - Courageous or Misguided?

[charlie007]

I think that was a thoughtless decision. It was apparent from Babar's press conference where he stated "you must be shocked where that declaration came from" that it was a decision not thought over well - even his team mate did not know (he said Saud Shakeel thought "we were playing for a draw"). What was he thinking, a team that declared after scoring 600+ runs in the first innings would be bowled out in 15 overs? The run scoring by NZ was far more likely and it could have gone very badly for Pakistan. Someone in power should find out who all were party to this decision and fire them!

 

[shamaan]

Shouldn't really have to list why it was an absurd decision but let's educate some of our less knowledgeable posters here on PP.

You're not going to take ten wickets in 19 overs on a wicket where the Kiwis were struggling to get out Mo Wasim and Mir Hamza out.

The opposition were going to be the only winners in this scenario.
If Mo Wasim can score 40 odd in relatively quick time then what were the kiwis going to do?

You keep the opposition in the field for as long as you possibly can.
You don't declare and let them put their feet up early, especially after you've conceded 600 hundred runs and spent two days in the field.

Declaring when they did was literally one of the most stupid decisions ever taken

Anyone with half sense would know it was the most stupid decision decision for a long while.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

Babar smiling sheepishly and saying 'you must be shocked' displaying fake bravado is the funniest thing right now. The guy thinks he is James Bond when he actually is the useless comedy sidekick.

 

[zaidihusain]

Babar knows the art of misleading his fans, how the team plays in the field and what he says in post match press conferences is totally opposite. He self proclaimed it was a brave decision and he wanted to see the result doesn't match with the facts.

The bowlers failed to bowl out Kiwis in 1st innings even in 2 full days, around 194 overs were bowled. It was delusional to think that Kiwis can be bowled out in 15 overs

In 2nd innings Pakistan batter with RR of 2.99. The slow RR was due to fall of wickets at regular intervals and Pakistan was infact saved by Saud-Waseem partnership

Babar opened the bowling with Agha Salman in 2nd innings and thought that he will get the wickets was another level of stupidity

Babar is not a good speaker but atleast he should speak truth which matches with the actual facts

 

[kumjsr]

Quite disrespectful to test cricket for treating it like gully cricket and thinking that they can dismiss Kiwis in 10 overs.

That's why lowly he rated opposition.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

I didn't watch the interview of his about the declaration but read a few of his quotes on media

He sounds insane lol. Or delusional at best. Like he thought he was being clever or something. It's surreal. Is he really that silly? Perhaps he just grew up batting and focusing on batting and that's all he did and concentrated on his whole life. Like an obsessive compulsive. Lol. Who knows, but that interview was weird.

 

[Suleiman]

Babar smiling sheepishly and saying 'you must be shocked' displaying fake bravado is the funniest thing right now. The guy thinks he is James Bond when he actually is the useless comedy sidekick.

For real. Fans played their part over the years hyping him to the moon, calling him king, etc.

Clearly got to his head and now he thinks he’s on another planet.

He’s a great player, but we treat every great player as an all time great before they are worthy of the status.

 

[sam_ahm]

Ish Sodhi in his presser:

"Pakistan's declaration did not surprise me. It was a good decision. It is good that teams are getting aggressive in Test cricket."

That's smart from Sodhi, he wants Pakistan to take more such 'aggressive' decisions.

NZ know Babar and management don't know the difference between aggressiveness and stupidity. You don't suddenly become aggressive in the last hour of a test match after being defensive for 4.75 days.

 

[MenInG]

Shahid Afridi speaking to the media:

“Babar Azam is the backbone of the Pakistan team and we will back him. His decision about declaration yesterday was a good one"

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kamran Akmal "it makes me laugh when people say that was a brave decision to declare" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvNZ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvNZ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/wBL3jO2Pqh">pic.twitter.com/wBL3jO2Pqh</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1609199958929932297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2022</a></blockquote>
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[dildilpak]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kamran Akmal "it makes me laugh when people say that was a brave decision to declare" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvNZ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvNZ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/wBL3jO2Pqh">pic.twitter.com/wBL3jO2Pqh</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1609199958929932297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2022</a></blockquote>
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No love lost between the cousins, eh?

 

[greatest]

Shahid Afridi speaking to the media:

“Babar Azam is the backbone of the Pakistan team and we will back him. His decision about declaration yesterday was a good one"

This statement is enough to indicate who guided Babar to take this brilliant decision. Thank you Lala.

 

[moghul]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kamran Akmal "it makes me laugh when people say that was a brave decision to declare" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvNZ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvNZ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/wBL3jO2Pqh">pic.twitter.com/wBL3jO2Pqh</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1609199958929932297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Kamran was not the only one laughing at it, what else you could do, utter non-sense.

 

[jnaveen1980]

That's smart from Sodhi, he wants Pakistan to take more such 'aggressive' decisions. &#55357;&#56834;

NZ know Babar and management don't know the difference between aggressiveness and stupidity. You don't suddenly become aggressive in the last hour of a test match after being defensive for 4.75 days. &#55357;&#56834;

From a NZ perspective that is a fantastic declaration lol

 

[Sidilicious]

The problem for Pakistan is that if the PCB officials and coaches don't criticise this decision, then Babar might repeat such mistakes again.

Light saved his blushes this time, but it could become even more embarrassing in the future. Babar needs to be relieved of the captaincy duties. The guy is losing it. It hasn't affected his batting so far, but this decision clearly shows it is affecting him mentally. And sooner or later, it will creep into his batting.

 

[BreadPakoda]

Is Rizwan the non-playing vice captain? Why is he signaling the batsmen to come back to the pavilion? lol

 

[Majestic]

Is Rizwan the non-playing vice captain? Why is he signaling the batsmen to come back to the pavilion? lol

Who laughs like this when declaring?

Look at that pic, it sounds like Babar and Rizwan are saying to the batsman in middle,

"Aaj ka Dinner coach ke taraf se, chal aa ja" )

 

[Savak]

It's a pity that Babar has been playing for ten years, U19, domestic and national team, has played 50 test matches for Pakistan, has captained Pakistan for 3 years and still has zero cricketing intellect, IQ, understanding, match awareness. He has zero idea about what he is doing.

 

[Zaz]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kamran Akmal "it makes me laugh when people say that was a brave decision to declare" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvNZ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvNZ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/wBL3jO2Pqh">pic.twitter.com/wBL3jO2Pqh</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1609199958929932297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2022</a></blockquote>
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This video shows the toxcity of pakistan cricket in its ex players

Just because you arent in the team or your brother isnt in the team you will take any opportunity to put down your cousin and the national captain

On topic i believe if babars is staying in the team he needs bettter advisors in the team He clearly doesnt have any brains in the management to fall back on

Like posters have said he was never gonna bowl out the kiwis in 15 overs The only two results possible were a draw or a loss This declaration was seriously misguided

What he shouldve done was declare with 6-7 overs remaining when there was no chance of a loss and to try take 2-3 wkts with aggressive fields so he could go into the next test on a slightly front foot

This declaration was a mistake and couldve seriously backfired with a loss

 

[Saj]

Wouldn't have been laughing if bad light hadn't ensured the umpires called the game off.

But there again they'd have put it down to Qudrat ka Nizam.

What on earth were this lot thinking!

 

[Rana]

Wouldn't have been laughing if bad light hadn't ensured the umpires called the game off.

But there again they'd have put it down to Qudrat ka Nizam.

What on earth were this lot thinking!

I think Babar was trying to do a below the belt declaration

It literally was a below the belt move on the fans of Pakistan cricket

 

[Markhor]

Babar knows the art of misleading his fans, how the team plays in the field and what he says in post match press conferences is totally opposite. He self proclaimed it was a brave decision and he wanted to see the result doesn't match with the facts.

The bowlers failed to bowl out Kiwis in 1st innings even in 2 full days, around 194 overs were bowled. It was delusional to think that Kiwis can be bowled out in 15 overs

In 2nd innings Pakistan batter with RR of 2.99. The slow RR was due to fall of wickets at regular intervals and Pakistan was infact saved by Saud-Waseem partnership

Babar opened the bowling with Agha Salman in 2nd innings and thought that he will get the wickets was another level of stupidity

Babar is not a good speaker but atleast he should speak truth which matches with the actual facts

Exactly, Babar simply insults everyone's intelligence with these statements. It reminds me of him saying we dominated for 5 days in 1st Test vs AUS when that match was destined for a draw on a road.

It's a pity that Babar has been playing for ten years, U19, domestic and national team, has played 50 test matches for Pakistan, has captained Pakistan for 3 years and still has zero cricketing intellect, IQ, understanding, match awareness. He has zero idea about what he is doing.

That's why PCB should analyse a player's captaincy track record before appointing them. Babar's been a captaincy flop in U19s, domestic and PSL not just for Pakistan.

 

[Adil_94]

It was a total bluff and act of pseudo-aggression. This bowling attack couldn't get 10 wickets in 115 overs never mind 15 overs.

The declaration meant in reality only one team could win and that's NZ.

If Babar was really wanting the win why did he start putting all the guys on the boundary when NZ started looking dangerous.

This guy in Test matches has no I.Q as captain.

He either did this knowing that bad light would save his backside but it would be a good PR move to portray to our fans look " we can be innovative and aggresive".

If Babar really wants to be aggressive say we need to chase 300 on Day 5 to win or we have a 350 lead and declare with 5 sessions to go like England did , thats what real aggression is.

This is was a fake publicity stunt to garner some good PR after humiliation after humiliation.

PCB Media Team is trying to build this cult of personality around Babar as this charismatic leader of men.

Babar doesn't have the ounce of the charisma of an Imran. He's a very good player and that's it. He is an okay white ball captain too .

He doesn't have an ounce of personality or charisma or intelligence. You can tell that by his boring interviews even in Urdu he comes across as dim-witted and lacking intellect.

 

[MenInG]

Note to Babar.

See how and when NZ declared their innings. This is what is meant by a bold decision.

 

[Markhor]

Sorry but I'm still not over this.

Babar's declaration almost handed NZL a Test on a platter. The 2nd Test was drawn so had light not intervened - NZL could've won the series and completed a hat-trick of home defeats for PAK.

When Babar declared, there was only one team with any possibility of winning and that was NZL unless anyone believed we'd take 10 wickets in 15 overs. If the intention was forcing a result - why set defensive fields ?

He then explains it as a "below the belt" decision while sheepishly grinning in the press conference after bad light saved him.

This was a desperate act of false bravado from an insecure, dumb captain trying to overcompensate after criticisms of his defensive captaincy. He should've been unceremoniously sacked there and then.

I seriously worry what these guys would do if they weren't cricketers.

 

[Rana]

Sorry but I'm still not over this.

Babar's declaration almost handed NZL a Test on a platter. The 2nd Test was drawn so had light not intervened - NZL could've won the series and completed a hat-trick of home defeats for PAK.

When Babar declared, there was only one team with any possibility of winning and that was NZL unless anyone believed we'd take 10 wickets in 15 overs. If the intention was forcing a result - why set defensive fields ?

He then explains it as a "below the belt" decision while sheepishly grinning in the press conference after bad light saved him.

This was a desperate act of false bravado from an insecure, dumb captain trying to overcompensate after criticisms of his defensive captaincy. He should've been unceremoniously sacked there and then.

I seriously worry what these guys would do if they weren't cricketers.

Babar was removed from captaincy because the system is rotten

Not because Babar was a poor captain

 

[Kianig89]

Babar was removed from captaincy because the system is rotten

Not because Babar was a poor captain

Give it a rest focus on SA choke today

 

[Savak]

Babar was an incompetent captain as evidenced by the Karachi Kings campaign in 2022. I am shocked it took the PCB so long to get rid of him.

 

[Rana]

Babar was an incompetent captain as evidenced by the Karachi Kings campaign in 2022. I am shocked it took the PCB so long to get rid of him.

But Peshawar Zalmi will hang on to him as captain just so that they can continue their cringe war against PCB