“Is he the only first-innings player?” – Danish Kaneria criticizes Babar Azam after his poor display in the 2nd innings of the ongoing Test vs ENG

Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria has criticized Babar Azam after his consecutive failures in the second innings of the ongoing Test series against England.

He feels that the Pakistan captain fails to deliver when his team needs him the most because of his inability to handle pressure.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaneria said:

“Babar Azam failed again. He scores runs in the first innings when there is no pressure. I don’t understand why he fails to score runs in the second innings when his team needs him the most.

"Is he unable to handle the pressure? Is he the only first-innings player? Should we bring someone else other than Babar in the second innings?”

The statement came as Babar scored only one run in the second innings of the Multan Test while chasing 355 in a must-win game for Pakistan.

The right-hander had earlier departed for just four runs in the second innings of the first Test, which the hosts lost by 74 runs.

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“Babar Azam can only score runs against Zimbabwe” – Danish Kaneria

Kaneria also pointed out that a section of fans in Multan booed Babar Azam after his failure in the Multan Test. They chanted that the batter could only score against lower-ranked teams like Zimbabwe after his single-digit score against England on Sunday, December 11.

Kaneria reckons big players are known to step up in the second innings, but Babar doesn’t possess the mental toughness to contribute in pressure situations.

He said:

“The fans in the stadium even chanted about whether Babar can only score runs against Zimbabwe. Big players need to score in the second innings, but Babar has always failed in those circumstances. Test cricket is all about pressure and mental toughness. Babar fails there.”

So far, Babar has scored only one century in the fourth innings in his 43-match Test career.

Meanwhile, Pakistan require 157 runs with six wickets in hand in the must-win second Test against England, with Saud Shakeel (unbeaten 55) and Faheem Ashraf (3 not out) at the crease at the end of Day 3.