'Are you fool or making others fool?' - Fans mercilessly troll Pak skipper Babar Azam for his 'brave declaration' remark after Karachi draw against NZ

Pakistan and New Zealand locked horns in the first of the two-match Test series at the National Stadium in Karachi. Batting first, Pakistan managed to post a total of 438 runs, thanks to the brilliant Tons from skipper Babar Azam and lower order batter Agha Salman alongside an 86-run knock by former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed in his comeback Test.

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In reply, the mammoth total of 612 runs by New Zealand on the back of former skipper Kane Williamson's double ton and senior opener Tom Latham's century led the match to a draw.

But the Pak skipper out of nowhere decided to declare the second innings and posted a target of 138 runs for New Zealand in the fourth innings of the match. Subsequently, the hosts' skipped Babar Azam went on to defend his decision and called it a 'brave decision'.

Here's what Babar Azam said on the decision of declaring the innings

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"Definitely a brave declaration. We wanted to see a result, the light was not good enough. Our fifth bowler was Salman, but after the first innings he was not well, he was sick for two days. I do not think we were a bowler short. The way Saud and Wasim Jr played, credit to them for playing positive cricket and getting up that partnership," said Babar Azam during the post-match presentation after the Karachi red-ball fixture ended in a draw.

Although these remarks from the 28-year-old didn't go down well with a section of the cricket fans. They slammed Babar and termed his decision as an 'immature stunt'.

Apart from the fans, veteran cricket analyst and commentator Harsha Bhogle also went a bit critique this decision from Babar Azam.

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"When you declare an innings and set a target, you must believe you have a fair chance of winning the game. With this declaration, only two results were possible: a draw or a defeat," wrote Harsha in his tweet.

Here's how fans reacted:

When you declare an innings and set a target, you must believe you have a fair chance of winning the game. With this declaration, only two results were possible: a draw or a defeat.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 30, 2022

That declaration from Babar Azam wasn't brave at all. He knew light would not hold for anything more than 6-7 overs and declared just to brag about how brave they are when it's clear they are the biggest cowards playing for a draw since day 1 of every home test.

— Sahil Prakash (@sahil_prakash) December 31, 2022

@babarazam258 Babar Azam called it brave decision of declaration, Are you fool or making others fool?? What’s results you were expecting in 15 overs?? The team u didn’t bowled out in 200 overs but thought to get them out in 15 overs??

— Anurag Singh (@anuragsingh113) December 30, 2022

Now, both teams will lock horns in the second and last of the two-match Test series at the same venue in Karachi. Notably, Pakistan and New Zealand are already out of contention for the final of the World Test Championship Final 2023, both statistically and practically.