Here’s how I got into the middle of this cricketing storm about Babar and Doull, step by step. It all started like any other morning. Woke up, made some strong coffee – black, no sugar – and slumped into my chair to scroll through cricket feeds online before work. Just my usual routine.
The Headline Grab
Scrolling past ads and memes, this one headline practically jumped off the screen: “Doull Slams Babar Again! Fans Furious!”. My finger paused. Doull criticizing Babar wasn’t exactly news now, he’d done it mid-game last year. But “again”? Why was it flaring up? Curiosity kicked in. Coffee forgotten, getting cold now.
Diving Down the Rabbit Hole
Clicked on that headline. Landed on some sports site article, rehashing Doull’s original comments from that Pakistan match – the one where Babar scored a 50 but took his time getting there. Doull, commentating live, said Babar was putting himself before the team, slowing down looking for milestones. Ouch. Bad timing.
But the article then mentioned active cricketers disagreeing with Doull lately. That was the new bit! Who? I needed names. Hit up Twitter, always buzzing.
- Mohammad Rizwan – Babar’s own team-mate! – had apparently defended him strongly. Said something like “people sitting comfortably outside don’t understand the pressure in the middle”. Strong words.
- Michael Hussey – legend, always sensible. Voice of the old guard. He wasn’t outright defending Babar, but talking about context, about the role Babar plays for Pakistan as anchor.
- Then others chipping in: some ex-players backing Doull, some current players pushing back hard. It was a proper bar fight online!
Trying to Make Sense of the Noise
Okay, so the debate wasn’t just about that one incident anymore. It was boiling over. Why were players so fired up about Doull’s take?
Sat back, sipped the cold coffee (bleh). My thinking:
- Doull’s Point (Repeated): Modern T20 is fast. Super fast. Anchoring can cost the team runs. The anchor needs to accelerate. Babar, at times, maybe doesn’t.
- Players Pushing Back: Felt Doull was simplifying things? T20 isn’t just smash-smash-smash. Building an innings matters, especially chasing big totals. It’s chess with cricket bats. Lose a key wicket early going crazy, you crash. Plus, the pressure cooker Babar lives in? Maybe Doull talking from the comms box feels too easy.
It hit me: this clash wasn’t just Babar vs Doull. It was a bigger argument about how cricket is played versus how fans and commentators think it should be played. The players are out there doing the job, facing real pressure. Commentators and fans see the ideal version in their heads. Big gap.
What Actually Came Out of My Digging?
Finished my gross coffee. Didn’t become a cricket analyst overnight. But I got why this specific thing had legs:
- Doull Doubled Down: Kept pushing his “selfish knock” angle, kept it alive.
- Players Got Vocal: They felt the criticism was unfair, oversimplified, disrespectful even. They defended their world, their way of operating.
- Fans Took Sides: You either agreed with Doull (Babar needs to adapt!) or agreed with the players (Respect the craft!). Battle lines drawn.
Did I reach a grand conclusion? Nope. Just saw it for what it was: opinions clashing fiercely. A commentator sticking to his guns. Players defending their reality. Fans throwing petrol on the fire. Classic cricket drama, really.
Closed the laptop. Felt like I’d just watched a highlights reel of an argument. More confused than when I started? Maybe. But definitely understood the heat behind it. Just shows, sometimes the arguments off the field are faster than the cricket on it.
