Babar Azam vibes to dhols in the stands during PAK vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy match [Watch]

Pakistan stalwart Babar Azam was recently spotted vibing to dhols in the stands during the 2025 Champions Trophy match against New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. The two teams squared off in the curtain raiser of Champions Trophy on Wednesday.

An interesting moment transpired during the first innings of the contest when Pakistan were on their field. Babar Azam tried to engage with his fans while fielding near the boundary by vibing to the dhol beats in the stands. An Instagram user shared a video on social media to give fans a glimpse of the special moment.

You can watch it in the video below:

It was not a memorable match for Babar Azam with the bat as he played a sedate knock of 64 (90) during a steep chase of 321, drawing widespread criticism from all quarters.

He opened the batting for Men in Green in the contest and started watchfully as he lost partners regularly at the other end against a decent bowling attack from New Zealand. However, Babar failed to switch gears and accelerate even after getting set at the crease. As a result, the required run rate kept increasing steadily and eventually led to their downfall as Pakistan lost the match by 60 runs.

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"Where was his intent? Did he keep it at home?"- R Ashwin on Babar Azam's half-century vs New Zealand in 2025 Champions Trophy

Former Indian off-spinner R Ashwin recently criticized Babar Azam for not displaying the intent to score at a healthy rate during the Champions Trophy clash between Pakistan and New Zealand. Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said: (via Indian Express)

"I want to say one thing about Babar Azam is a very talented cricketer. But people should not get angry that I have criticized him. Yesterday also, he played a fantastic cover drive. But, the result of the entire game cannot be made by one cover drive. It has to be played completely. I understand that if a batsman is out of form or gets out because it’s a sport. I don’t know how to phrase it. But where was his intent? Did he keep it at home? I don’t know what he did."

He added:

"There were two off-spinners bowling and Babar Azam did not try to hit one single ball by coming forward. He came forward on the wrong ball. When Bracewell and Phillips were bowling by keeping one short square leg, he did not play lap sweep against those bowlers. He was only playing cover drive."

Babar will return to action on Sunday when Pakistan will square off against India in their second match of the 2025 Champions Trophy. The Dubai International Cricket Stadium will host the high-octane contest.