"Be it 5th Day of a Test Match or A series decider" - Twitterati ruthlessly trolls Babar Azam after poor outing in 3rd ODI against New Zealand 

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam put in a forgettable performance in the series decider against New Zealand on Friday, January 13, at the National Stadium in Karachi. The ace batter was stumped for just four runs after facing 13 deliveries in the seventh over of the innings.

Earlier, Babar had won the toss and decided to bat first in the third ODI against the Blackcaps. The skipper came into bat following the early dismissal of vice-captain Shan Masood in the second over itself. He got off to a nervy start, getting off the mark on his 10th delivery with a flick.

He proceeded to get out in an odd manner though. The right-handed batter stepped out of his crease to play for turn off Michael Bracewell's bowling. However, the new ball only turned a bit, leaving Babar fending for the wrong line. The wicketkeeper collected the ball with ease and clipped the bails off with the batter off the line.

The early dismissal ended his prolific run of five consecutive ODI fifties. He scored 66 in Pakistan's comfortable win in the series opener and scored a lone-ranger knock of 79 in the second ODI, which the hosts lost by 79 runs.

Interestingly, he has been stumped across all matches in the series. Glenn Phillips, Ish Sodhi, and now Michael Bracewell have all been successful in breaching the defense.

Fans were critical of Babar for not stepping up when the team required him as well as for the tame nature of his dismissal, which was largely avoidable. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:

Babar Azam's captaincy under scrutiny ahead of PCB review

While Babar Azam has been in relatively good form, which was cemented by a nomination for the ICC Player of the Month award for December 2022, the same fortune has not been with Pakistan cricket of late.

The new 14-man committee led by Najam Sethi, which has effectively replaced Ramiz Raja as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman for the time being, plans on introducing radical changes in the structure of the national team.

Changes in the constitution, the selection committee, and coaching staff have all been considered, and the potential idea of split captaincy is also being heavily considered.

The Men in Green endured a forgettable 2022 after failing to win even a single home Test. Their humiliating whitewash against England also quashed their hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

Will the ace batter remain as captain across all three formats in the future? Let us know what you think.

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