Watch: Usman Khawaja's Baby Daughter Hugs Babar Azam. Internet Can't Keep Calm

26.12.2023 - 02:51 sports.ndtv.com

Pakistan cricket team skipper Shan Masood along with star batter Babar Azam and other members of the support staff visited the Australian cricketers at their indoor practice session with Christmas gifts on Monday.

The Pakistan cricketers had gifts for the cricketers and lollipops for the children present at the Melbourne Cricket Ground facility.

The Australian cricketers were extremely happy with the heartwarming gesture and skipper Pat Cummins could not stop praising the effort.

A cute moment was when Usman Khawaja's baby daughter hugged Babar and the video of the moment has gone viral on social media.

cricket Australia Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team watch Usman Pat Cummins Scott Boland Mitchell Starc Josh Hazlewood Babar Azam Shan Masood Usman Khawaja Australia Pakistan

Putting the horror show in Australia behind them, Pakistan reached New Zealand with the hopes of redeeming themselves in the 5-match T20I series. As Shaheen Afridi and his team looked to pile pressure with the ball, the fielders, including former skipper Babar Azam helped little in the fielding, dropping chance after chance. First, it was Babar who dropped an easy catch involving New Zealand's Kane Williamson, later it was Iftikhar Ahmed who gave the dangerous Daryl Mitchell a lifeline.

Watch: Babar Azam Misses Another Simple Catch, Gets Roasted On Social Media

Pakistan cricket team's fielding performances have come under a lot of criticism in the recent past. During the recently concluded Test series against Australia, there were several missed catches and fielding errors that left the fans frustrated. Pakistan fans were left disappointed once again when Babar Azam missed an extremely easy catch during the first T20I encounter against New Zealand in Auckland on Friday. Williamson miscued a shot off the bowling of Abbas Afridi and the ball went straight towards Babar at mid-on. it should have been an easy catch but Babar misjudged it completely and ended up wasting a simple chance. Social media was not happy and fans started roasting him for the missed opportunity.

Captain Shaheen Afridi Set To Demote Opener Babar Azam For New Zealand T20Is: Report

Pakistan are expected to go for a new opening pair in the T20 series in New Zealand with Muhammad Rizwan to partner young Saim Ayub instead of Babar Azam. According to reports from Auckland, the team management had Rizwan and Saim batting in the nets against the new ball bowlers while Babar and Fakhar Zaman had their knocks against mainly spinners in the other nets. Babar and Rizwan have opened pretty successfully for Pakistan in the T20 format since 2021 but apparently new captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, new high performance coach Yasir Arafat and the team director Muhammad Hafeez are keen to try out something new against New Zealand in the five-match series beginning on January 12.

Watch: Babar Azam's Powerful Shot Strikes Pakistan Bowling Coach Saeed Ajmal. This Happens next

Babar Azam is currently struggling with a lean patch. After a rather quiet ODI Cricket World Cup 2023, where he could not leave a big mark, Babar Azam resigned from the captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team. Shan Massod took over the Test captaincy while Shaheen Afridi took over the T20I captaincy. After the Cricket World Cup, Pakistan's first assignment was a three-Test series against Australia which it lost 3-0. Babar Azam did not have a good Tour in Australia too as he could go past the 40-mark only once in six innings.

"She Calls Him Shaitan": Usman Khawaja After Retiring David Warner Hugs His Mother

Australia star opener David Warner bid adieu to Test cricket as he played his last match in the longest format on Saturday against Pakistan. Warner scored 57 off 75 balls and helped Australia clinch an eight-wicket win and claim the three-match series 3-0. Making his Test debut back in 2011, Warner played 112 matches and scored a whopping total of 8786 runs. Apart from his heroic knocks, Warner also formed a great opening pair with his fellow teammate Usman Khawaja. The duo provided a strong base to Australia's batting line-up for several years.

ICC Rejects Usman Khawaja's Appeal Against Armband Sanction: Report

Australia opener Usman Khawaja suffered a setback after his appeal against the sanction imposed on him for wearing a black armband during the opening Test against Pakistan was rejected by the International Cricket Council, a report said on Sunday. Last month, Khawaja was reprimanded by the ICC for wearing the black armband to mourn the children who have been the victim of the conflict between Israel and Palestine that has been going on since October last year. The 37-year-old, who was born in Pakistan and is the first Muslim to play Test cricket for Australia, had challenged the reprimand saying that the armband was for a personal bereavement.