- Babar Azam was pressured to play T20 with a groin injury against New Zealand.
- Despite his injury, Babar traveled across the continent for a BPL match 2 days later.
- New Zealand won the series 4-1, with Pakistan winning the last match.
The details reveal that Pakistan lost the T20 series to New Zealand 4-1. After four consecutive defeats, Pakistan was facing the risk of a whitewash. The team management was alarmed when the star batsman announced that he had a groin injury and might not be able to play in the match.
Nevertheless, he was persuaded to play but he could only score 13 runs off 24 balls and got dismissed. He also missed a catch and hardly fielded in the second innings. The bowlers saved the day for Pakistan by winning the match by 42 runs and avoiding a 5-0 loss. Babar was the highest run-getter in the series with 213 runs and 3 half-centuries.
After this match on January 21, the former captain flew 11206 kilometers and reached Dhaka on January 23. He played for Rangpur Riders against Sylhet Strikers in the Bangladesh Premier League. He opened the inning, scored 56 runs, and helped his team win a close match.
According to Babar’s close sources, the injury was not very severe, but Babar wanted to take a break since Pakistan had already lost the series. He also thought that this would give a young player a chance to showcase his talent, but the team management did not agree and Babar played in the match.
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