Hashim Amla’s twin failures in first Test vs Sri Lanka earns backlash from fans

He has been one of South Africa’s best batsmen with over fifty international hundreds. But since sports is a brutal domain that seeks even the best to continuously prove their greatness irrespective of the human factor of ageing and slowing, even Hashim Amla hasn’t found an escape route. The 35-year-old failed once again by scoring 3 and 16 in the two innings in the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka in Durban.

Amla is having a particularly lean phase and averaged less than 24 in 10 Tests before the arrival of Pakistan for a full-fledged tour recently. He hit a couple of fifties in the three-Test series against the Asians before slamming a welcome hundred and a fifty in the five-ODI series following that. He averaged 52.25 in three Tests and 53.50 in five ODIs against Pakistan but as they say, a batsman is as good as his last game and Amla’s failure against an ordinary Sri Lanka side in the first Test has fuelled his critics again.

Will Amla get to play his third and probably final World Cup in England?

It is still not known whether Amla will eventually play in what seems to be his final World Cup (he has played two – 2011 and 2015) but as one of SA’s most accomplished players in the 50-over format with the most number of centuries (27), the Proteas will definitely like him to feature in their XI.

Amla also had a low run for Durban Heat in South Africa’s domestic Mzansi Super League t20 tournament in which he managed just 24 runs in seven innings and also had issues with fitness after breaking a finger at the Caribbean Premier League last September where also his bat didn’t speak much. Overall, Amla now faces with a real challenge and the fans are not too impressed with the roller coaster ride and also seeking his retirement.

Here are some of the reactions on Twitter

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