Babar Azam breaks his silence on controversial umpire’s decision after loss to South Africa

South Africa held their nerves to beat Pakistan by 1 wicket in a nail-biting encounter in Chennai on Friday. There were massive celebrations in the South African camp when Keshav Maharaj hit Mohammed Nawaz for a four. This win took the South African team to the top of the table in the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament. 

The match wasn’t without its fair share of controversies as the umpires were under pressure throughout the game. One moment that came under focus was when Haris Rauf went up with a huge appeal against Tabraiz Shamsi. The incident in question happened in the final ball of the 46^th over.

Many prominent former cricketers have come out and questioned the call. The loss has put the Pakistani team on the brink of early exit from the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament. Pakistan’s hopes to make it to the semi-finals now rest in the hands of other teams.

Babar Azam speaks out on the controversial call –

Haris Rauf bowled the ball right at the pads of the number 11 batter Tabraiz Shamsi. The batter missed the ball as the Pakistani team went up in appeal. The umpire gave it not-out and the DRS was taken. Once the rudimentary checks were done it was deemed as Umpire’s call and the batter survived to leave the players in shock.

Post the loss Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said “It's part of the game. This is umpire's call so I think it's just part of the game. Had he given it out, it would have favored us". The Pakistani skipper also shared his disappointment after losing such a close game at this stage of the tournament. 

Babar Azam further said “I think it's disappointing everyone, we had the opportunity to win this match and stay in the tournament but we missed it. We will try our best in our next three matches and put our effort so let's see where we stand after the three matches."

Batting first after winning the toss Pakistan was bowled out for 270 runs. Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel had scored half-centuries with the bat. Shadab Khan had contributed 43 runs as Tabraiz Shamsi picked 4 for 60 from his 10 overs with the ball.

The Pakistani skipper felt his team was perhaps 20 runs short of winning the game. The next game for the men in green is against Bangladesh on Tuesday in Kolkata.