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The official broadcasters for the Ireland and Afghanistan series mistakenly showed former Pakistan captain Babar Azam as the skipper of Afghanistan at the start of the one-off Test at Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, February 28.
In a post doing the rounds on X (formerly Twitter), Babar could be seen as Afghanistan's skipper instead of Hashmatullah Shahidi.
For the unversed, Babar Azam is currently leading the Peshawar Zalmi in the ongoing 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL). As a skipper, he’s led Zalmi to three wins in five games this season so far.
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) came up with mixed reactions to Babar Azam’s picture for the Afghanistan vs Ireland Test. One user wrote:
"Babar Afghani."
Here are a few more reactions:
With the bat, Babar recently slammed an unbeaten 111 runs off 63 balls against Islamabad United, hitting two sixes and 14 boundaries. The right-hander is currently the leading run-getter in the T20 tournament, scoring 330 runs in five innings so far.
Babar had last played for Pakistan during the five-match T20I series in New Zealand. The 29-year-old emerged as Pakistan’s leading runscorer in the series, with 213 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 142, hitting three half-centuries. He will now look to carry his sublime form in the 2024 T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in the United States of America and the West Indies in June.
Ireland dominating Afghanistan on Day 1
Ireland are dominating Afghanistan on Day 1 of the one-off Test. That came as Hashmatullah Shidi chose to bat first against the visitors.
At the time of writing, Afghanistan were 134/7 after 46 overs, with Karim Janat and Naveed Zadran at the crease.
Ibrahim Zadran top scored with 53 off 83 balls in an innings laced with nine boundaries. Skipper Shahidi (20 off 44 deliveries) got the start but failed to convert it into a big score. For Ireland, Mark Adair has bagged four wickets so far.
Follow the AFG vs IRE one-off Test live score and updates here.
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