A year after ‘intent’ criticism, Simon Doull teases Babar Azam with ‘strike rate’ praise after PSL ton

Watch: Simon Doull, who has often been critical of Babar Azam’s scoring rate in T20s, hilariously teased him for his improved batting strike during his 63-ball 111 in the 2024 PSL clash between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi.

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In 2023, Simon Doull had lashed out at Azam Babar on air for slowing down while approaching his century against the Quetta Gladiators. Babar had a quickfire start to his innings, reaching 83 in 46 balls but took 14 more balls to score the next 17. The sudden drop in scoring rate did not go unnoticed.

“Rather than putting the team first… the last little while, that’s all that been happening. Rather than looking for boundaries, still so much firepower to come. Hundreds are brilliant, stats are great, but it has to be team first,” Doull had remarked.

Babar’s team Peshawar Zalmi lost the game despite posting 240 on the board, drawing more scrutiny on his slowdown. The two had shared a lengthy conversation a few days after Doull’s comments on Babar.

On Monday, February 26, Babar led the way for Zalmi with yet another hundred, scoring 111 in 63 balls at a strike rate of 176. He reached his 50 in 39 deliveries and needed only 20 more balls for his 11th T20 ton, helping Zalmi post 201-5. They eventually won by eight runs.

Doull was the presenter at the post-match ceremony where he chatted with Zalmi skipper Babar about his “best hundred” and the team’s performance in the clash. After the conversation, Doull saw him off with the words, “I thought you were absolutely magnificent. Strike rate was good too, my man,” drawing a chuckle from Babar.