‘He is a bit down, but we will keep giving him confidence’ – Babar Azam backs Hasan Ali after pacer’s poor outing against Australia in the semis

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam had Hasan Ali’s back after the fast bowler had an indifferent outing against Australia in the T20 World Cup 2021. The speedster couldn’t get a wicket and went for 44 runs in four overs at an economy rate of 11. In his final over, he went for 15 runs, including a four and a six as the Aussies got close to chasing down the target of 177.

Rubbing salt into his wounds, he dropped Matthew Wade in the final over. The missed chance cost Pakistan big time as Wade hit Shaheen Shah Afridi for three sixes in a row to help the Aussies win the match by five wickets with six balls left. Babar supported Hasan Ali, saying that the team will keep backing him as he is one of their gun bowlers.

We are behind him, says Babar Azam

“I don’t feel like that. He is our main bowler and has won many matches for Pakistan. Players do drop catches sometimes. He is fighting it out and I will keep backing him. Every player cannot perform in every game. Some individuals who are having a good day try to make the most of it and come up with good performances,” Babar said in the post-match press conference.

“Yes, he is a bit down. We will keep backing him and giving him confidence. People will say a lot of things, but we are behind him,” he added.

Former Indian cricketer, Aakash Chopra, also backed Hasan Ali after the latter dropped the crucial catch in the crunch moment of the match. Moreover, he said that Australia won the match because they were the better team.

Chopra wrote, “Well played Pak You should be extremely proud of your campaign. Plenty of positives. But the people in Pakistan must also remember that nobody drops a catch on purpose. It’s the better team on the night that wins the match. What needs fixing is your mindset. #T20WorldCup.”

Hasan Ali had a poor outing in the World Cup going by the standards he set for himself. In six games, he picked up five wickets at an economy rate of nine, the worst among all the Pakistan bowlers.