Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam was recently spotted playing padel tennis with his brother, Safeer Azam, in Lahore. They were joined by friends, including cricketers Imam-ul-Haq and Usman Qadir.
Babar took some time to relax after Pakistan’s disappointing 2025 Champions Trophy campaign. The defending champions and tournament hosts faced a shocking group-stage exit after consecutive defeats to New Zealand and India, while their final group match against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain.
The 30-year-old batter managed 87 runs in two innings during the tournament. Ahead of his next cricketing assignment, he enjoyed a game of padel tennis. Safeer shared a glimpse of their match on Instagram:
“The kind of days we live For 🤍😇.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGtRYysIOxz/?igsh=Mno0ZDJ1M3M4YmN2
Babar Azam opened for Pakistan in the 2025 Champions Trophy after Saim Ayub’s injury. He hit a half-century in the opener against New Zealand but faced criticism for his 60 off 90 balls while chasing 321. Against India, he started well but managed only 23 off 26 balls.
“Why Send Him to No. 1?” – Ex-Pakistan Coach on Babar Azam’s Batting Position in CT 2025
Former Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam criticized the decision to make Babar Azam open in the 2025 Champions Trophy, calling it a mistake by the team management. He emphasized that the team’s top batter should play at No. 3 in ODIs.
Alam also felt that Babar should have declined the opener’s role. As quoted by Hindustan Times, he stated:
“Why on earth will you send him to No. 1? He’s not an opener. No. 3 is the backbone of a batting lineup, and your best bet should come in that position, and he should have been told by the coaches to stay there for the entire duration and get a century.”
“If he got you a hundred and someone else chipped in with 50 or 60-odd, you’d have nearly 300 runs on the board, and that’s how you should be playing. Even Babar should have refused to change his batting position. I don’t know who convinced him to open the innings. It was a bad decision,” he added.
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