Gambhir slams Babar Azam's captaincy after Pakistan's loss to Sri Lanka

Gambhir emphasized that Babar should have focused on maintaining pressure rather than hunting for wickets in the closing overs, which might have altered the outcome of the game had those crucial boundaries not been conceded

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir didn't mince his words when assessing Babar Azam's captaincy during Pakistan's Asia Cup 2023 Super Four loss to Sri Lanka in Colombo on Thursday.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Gambhir expressed his criticism of Babar's tactics, particularly in the crucial closing overs of the game.

"For me, extremely ordinary captaincy as well. There was a four hit in Zaman Khan's over over mid-off and there was another four hit in Shaheen Shah Afridi's over over mid-off, and both those deliveries were slower ones," Gambhir said.

Gambhir stated that Babar should have adjusted his field placements when slower deliveries were being bowled.

"If you want to bowl slower ones, keep the mid-off fielder at long-off and bring the third man up. This is extremely simple captaincy. Imagine if you had 13 runs left in the last over, it would have been difficult for Sri Lanka," he further added.

Gambhir also questioned Babar's captaincy strategy during Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama's century partnership.

"You were allowing the game to drift at one stage. You wanted to complete your sixth bowler's quota. It doesn't work out like that. When the partnership was developing between Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, you should have brought on your main bowlers and tried to pick up wickets," Gambhir said.

Gambhir suggested that a more aggressive approach in the middle overs, focusing on taking wickets, could have been Pakistan's key to victory, given the nature of the game. He concluded by stating that Babar needs to adapt his captaincy style, understanding that ODI cricket differs from T20 cricket in terms of strategy and approach.

"Pakistan could have won this game only by taking wickets. If Sri Lanka had batted till the end, they could have won earlier than they actually did. I feel Babar Azam will have to be slightly better in his captaincy as ODI cricket is not like T20 cricket," he concluded.

In the virtual semi-final between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Pakistan posted a score of 252/7 in 42 overs. However, Sri Lanka, led by Dasun Shanaka, secured a nail-biting two-wicket victory via the DLS method off the final delivery, earning their spot in the final against India on Sunday.