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'Shuru tumne kiya, khatam ham karenge' - Fans react as Simon Doull and Aamer Sohail involve in fiery exchange over Babar Azam's strike rate

Babar Azam's place in the Pakistan T20 squad has been a subject of debate for a long time due to his slow strike rate.

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Rohit Kumar
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Simon Doull, Aamer Sohail and Babar Azam (Source - Twitter)

Simon Doull, Aamer Sohail and Babar Azam (Source - Twitter)

Pakistan Cricket Team have lost two matches out of the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. The Afghan team have now taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match series. After the 2nd defeat, the Men in Green got brutally trolled on social media.

Afghanistan created history by winning a series first time against a team that come in the top-6 in apex cricket body rankings.

Meanwhile, during the second T20I, Simon Doul and former Pakistan cricketer Aamir Sohail clashed in the commentary box over Pakistan captain Babar Azam's strike rate in the shortest format. Interestingly, Babar Azam is rested for the T20I series against Afghanistan to manage his workload. Mohammad Rizwan is also rested and Shadab Khan is leading the team in absence of both these both players.

The discussion between Doul and Sohail started with regards to the strike rate of Babar Azam. Doul expressed his opinion about Pakistani captain Babar and said that he should not open in the shortest format along with Rizwan. He also opined that either Syam Ayub or Mohammad Haris should open in his place.

Aamer Sohail said T20 teams are selected on the basis of average

Doul said that Babar is the best batsman at number three. However, Sohail did not like his opinion, and told him that the Pakistan T20I team is selected on the basis of average instead of strike rate. He said that the average is more important than the strike rate while giving the example of the world's best T20I batters, namely Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers.

Doull: "Babar Azam is hands down the best No 3 batsman in the world. He should not open for Pakistan. Saim and Haris should open with Rizwan in T20Is."

The former Pakistani cricketer said that the strike rate of both was low, but the average was excellent. Sohail asked if the strike rate of Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers was between 135 and 137. Correcting his figures, Dull said that Gayle's strike rate was 158 and de Villiers' was 145. After this, Doul asked about Babar's strike rate, to which, Sohail did not answer directly.

Sohail: "The T20 teams are selected on the basis of averages and not strike rates. The averages are more important than strike rates. I don't care about the strike rate, I look for the average. If you talk about the best players in T20I like Chris Gayle and AB De Villiers, what is the strike rate between 135 and 137?"

Doull: 158

Sohail: Whose?

Doull: Chris Gayle. AB De Villiers is 145

Sohail: 137 in international cricket.

Doull: What's Babar's?

Here's how fans reacted:

Pakistan Babar Azam