KARACHI: Pakistan’s star trio of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi struggled on their respective Big Bash League (PPL) debuts, drawing mixed reactions from cricket enthusiasts on Monday.
Directly signed by the Sydney Sixers ahead of the player auction, Babar failed to live up to the hype created by the franchise as the star batsman took a five-ball two in a curtain-raiser against the Perth Scorchers at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
On the third ball he faced a tough length delivery from Joel Paris, he got away with a scare.
However, the 31-year-old attempted a similar shot on the fifth ball he faced and was eventually caught at mid-on, getting out after scoring two runs off five balls.
Former Pakistan white-ball captain Rizwan, who will represent the Melbourne Renegades in BBL 15, had an equally poor outing with the bat as he fell for a 10-ball boundary against the Brisbane Heat.
In this innings, Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was dismissed from the attack after he bowled two waist-high no-balls in the same over.
Shaheen, who had conceded nine and 19 runs in his first two overs respectively, got a sudden end in his third over to finish with a poor bowling figure of 0/43 in 2.4 overs.
The ill-fated start to the star trio’s respective PBL careers drew widespread criticism from cricket fans, who took to social media to vent their frustration.
A cricket fan with the username Shoaib Niazi described their protests at X as a “brutal” start for Pakistani cricketers in general.
“Terrible start for Pakistan players in PBL.. first Babar, now Rizwan and Shaheen,” he wrote on the micro-blogging website.
Another cricket fan with the username Maaz said the trio were “exposed” after being overhyped by their respective BBL franchises, while holding them responsible for the downfall of the Pakistan cricket team.
“BBL was promoting Babar, Shaheen, Rizwan non-stop. All 3 hyped stars have emerged in their first match. They need to introspect where (their) game is now and put their egos aside. In last 2 years (because) PCT decline has started.”
For the uninitiated, there are a total of seven Pakistani cricketers representing different franchises in the 15th edition of the PBL.
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