Fact Check: Has Babar Azam Announced Retirement From Test Cricket, Truth Behind Viral Post
Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has endured a torrid time in the ongoing two-Test match series between Pakistan and Bangladesh. Babar ended the series with a score of 11 and a total of 64 runs on Day 4 of the second Test in Rawalpindi on Monday (September 2).
After Babar was dismissed for 11 by Nahid Rana, a post claiming to be his retirement announcement went viral on social media platform ‘X’. A couple of fake ‘Babar Azam’ accounts posted screenshots of what appear to be the Pakistan batter’s retirement announcement.
Here are the couple of Babar Azam’s ‘fake’ retirement announcements…
— Babar Azam (@babaarazam258) September 2, 2024
Bye bye test cricket pic.twitter.com/5v5kDKgqs6
— Babar Azam – Parody (@babarazam228) September 2, 2024
We can confirm that all the talk of Babar Azam’s retirement are just fake and rumours spread by the critiques of the Pakistan batter.
Babar Azam found support in the form of Pakistan head coach and former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie at the end of Day 4 in the 2nd Test vs Bangladesh. Gillespie felt confident that Babar will score ‘big runs’ for Pakistan soon.
“Babar is a quality player. He is a world-class player. He is very close. I feel it. I am confident that we are going to see Babar scoring some big runs very soon. He probably hasn’t converted the start he has got,” Gillespie told the media in Rawalpindi.
After the conclusion of 2023 ODI World Cup, Pakistan toured Australia for a three-match Test series, in which they were whitewashed 3-0. During the three Tests, Babar scored only 126 runs at an average of 21. Before the T20 World Cup 2024, Pakistan toured England to play four T20Is.
In two matches, Babar notched up 68 runs across his name at an average of 34.00. In the T20 World Cup 2024, Babar once again was left exposed after falling short with his bat. In 4 matches, he garnered 122 runs at an average of 40.66. But he was heavily criticised for his below-par strike rate of 101.66 as Pakistan failed to reach the Super 8 stage after losing to India and US.
In their ongoing series against Bangladesh, in four innings, Babar has scored only 64 runs with a top score of 31.