Following Pakistan's crushing defeat to England in the Test series, the team faced harsh criticism. There were expectations of a better performance from Babar Azam after returning as captain, but Babar failed to impress in terms of play.
Due to constant batting failures, captain Babar Azam came under the scrutiny of former players. Former Pakistani batsman Basit Ali sharply criticized Babar Azam, calling him a player who only exists on social media.
Specifically, in the second Test match played at Lord's, England secured a convincing victory over Pakistan by a margin of 194 runs. This loss resulted in Pakistan losing the series 2-0. In the second innings, the Pakistani team, which was chasing a target of 389 runs, collapsed and managed to score only 194 runs.
The team expected great success from Babar Azam, who was returning from injury, but at this crucial moment, he was dismissed, scoring only 6 runs. After this poor performance by Pakistan, Basit Ali expressed his dissatisfaction on his show 'Show The Game Plan', stating that true great players are those who help the team in difficult times, not those who try to appear great through PR and fan clubs.
Basit cited legends such as Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Younis Khan as examples, noting that these individuals became great by scoring runs during tough periods, not through empty talk. Directing criticism towards Babar, Basit asked what the point of greatness is if you cannot do anything in a difficult moment. He stated that Babar is great only in the eyes of his fans and on social media. Furthermore, he noted that if the entire country relies on your game, you should at least not get out with such a poor shot.
Not only was Babar in the crosshairs of Basit Ali; he also criticized Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan. Although Saud Shakeel somewhat saved the team's honor by scoring 97 runs, Basit also criticized the shot he was dismissed with. Moreover, Basit severely criticized Mohammad Rizwan, who was dismissed after scoring only 1 run in the second innings. In anger, he asked what shot Rizwan played and whether he lacked sense. He questioned whether they were playing a Test match or street cricket.