Courtesy: X
During the Champions One-Day Cup 2024 clash at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, Safaraz Ahmed, the former Pakistan captain, brutally trolled his national teammate Babar Azam, who was playing for the opposition team. When Babar Azam walked out to bat for Stallions in the middle, Sarfaraz Ahmed of Dolphins was heard saying on the stump mic about letting the right-handed batter stay at the crease for 40 overs, due to his middling strike-rate, while focusing on dismissing other batters in the opposition.
For the unversed, Mohammad Haris, the captain of Stallions, won the toss and decided to bat first, which led to an exceptional opening stand between Shan Masood and Yasir Khan of 76 runs in 13 overs, putting Dolphins firmly on the backfoot. After Faheem Ashraf dismissed Shan Masood for 34 off 36, Babar Azam arrived at the centre after the fans in Faisalabad welcomed him by chanting his name on top of their lungs.
Bas in logon ko bolo Babar Babar karte rahe. Hum Babar ko 40 over khila denge: Sarafaz Ahmed
Sarfaraz Ahmed, the wicket-keeper of Dolphins, noticed the fan reaction towards Babar Azam, following which he told his teammates to let the crowd chant the batter’s name, while allowing him to bat 40 overs instead of dismissing him. He was quoted as saying, “Theek hai, theek hai. Jaldi nahi hai, jaldi nahi hai. Bas in logon ko bolo Babar Babar karte rahe. Hum Babar ko 40 over khila denge. Shabaash. Baaki saare out ho jayenge. Boys, come on lads (It’s okay, it’s okay. There is no hurry, there is no hurry. Let the crowd chant Babar, Babar all they want. We will make him bat 40 overs. The rest will get out.)”
Here is the clip of Sarfaraz Ahmed trolling Babar Azam:
Ultimately, Babar Azam managed to bat for the better part of the Stallions innings, 37 overs to be exact, to score 104 not out off 100 balls with seven fours and three maximums, to help his team post 271/7 total on the board. Dolphins used six bowlers during the opposition’s batting innings, with all of them taking one wicket each, apart from one other batter of Stallions getting run out.
In the pursuit of a 272-run target, Dolphins were bundled out for 97 runs in just 25 overs with Jahandad Khan and Mehran Mumtaz taking three wickets each, while Abrar Ahmed and Haris Rauf picking up two wickets each.
