‘Nothing remained same’- Fans blame the ‘handshake with Virat Kohli’ for Babar Azam’s poor form with the bat

Pakistan skipper, Babar Azam has endured forgettable numbers in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022. He came into the tournament on the back of stellar numbers in white-ball cricket. However, the skipper hasn’t been able to make an impact in the tournament.

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In the last match against Afghanistan, Babar Azam was dismissed on a golden duck. His scores in the Asia Cup 2022 read: 10(9), 9(8), 14(10), 0 (1). Meanwhile, the fans are blaming Virat Kohli for Babar Azam’s poor run in the tournament.

Ahead of the start of the tournament, the Pakistan skipper met Virat Kohli, who himself has been enduring a poor run with the bat. The netizens are now making analogies between the two and cursing the incident for Babar’s poor form.

The Pakistan skipper could only manage to score 10 runs in 9 balls in the first match against India. In the next match against Hong Kong, he scored 9 runs. India again met Pakistan in the Super Four clash but, once again, Babar Azam fell cheaply for 14 runs in 10 balls. In the last match against Afghanistan, Babar Azam went for a golden duck.

Here's a look at some of the reactions:

Babar azam be like after hand shake with virat kohli 😂#AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/uoJbgTQTbO

— vishal (@ravipaakad) September 7, 2022

That hand shake 🤝between Babar Azam and Virat Kohli resulted in ‘Form exchange’!#INDvsPAK#ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/JUW5ghHqGd

— Saurabh Singh (@100rabhsingh781) September 4, 2022

A Golden Duck for Babar Azam tonight - he hasn't scored anything over 15 in this Asia Cup.

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 7, 2022

Nothing remained same after this handshake. But it shall pass, stay strong Babar Azam. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/bumZZn8XdO

— Vishal. (@SportyVishal) September 7, 2022

Babar Azam has gone too far in copying Virat Kohli now.

— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) September 7, 2022

Despite his poor numbers, the team has done well in the tournament and have reached the final as well. Pakistan beat Afghanistan in their last match by just 1 wicket to secure a place in the final. Combined efforts with the ball helped Pakistan restrict Afghanistan to just 129 runs in the first innings. Pakistan didn’t make a great start with the bat either. They had lost three wickets for 45 runs on the board.

Vital contributions from Iftikhar Ahmed (30 off 33) and Shadab Khan (36 off 26) helped the team come back into the game. However, the Farooqi and Rashid Khan picked wickets in quick succession between 15^th and 18^th over to turn the game around.

The equation came down to 11 needed in the final over with just one wicket left. However, Naseem Shah hit two sixes in a row to help Pakistan clinch the win from the jaws of defeat.