(Source Wisden)
Babar Azam expressed his concern when his efforts to comfort a child during Pakistan’s T20 World Cup match against Canada seemed to result in even more tears of happiness.
During the T20 World Cup matches against India and Canada at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium in New York, Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, shared a heartwarming moment with a young boy. Pakistan commenced their campaign in Dallas, Texas, facing an unexpected loss to the USA before traveling to New York for their subsequent matches against India and Canada. It was during these matches that the boy caught Babar’s eye, sparking a memorable interaction.
Babar Azam recounted his initial encounter with the boy during the India vs. Pakistan match. Observing the child in tears during the national anthem, Babar approached him to offer comfort. “I first encountered this child during the India-Pakistan match. When the anthem played, he came to me in tears. I became concerned and asked if someone had upset him. He then revealed he was a fan,” Babar shared with ICC presenter Sanjana Ganeshan during an interview.
Babar Azam mentioned that the boy repeated the same behavior during the match against Canada. “He did the same thing today (against Canada). He was standing in the line and crying. We all have experienced this. When you meet a star, the excitement is at a different level.”
When Sanjana, who is also married to Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, inquired about his decision to gift his gloves to the child, Babar responded: “I thought if he is such a big fan then I should also have some responsibility to give him something as a gift. Something memorable. I had my gloves in my hands. I gave him that. He got very excited and started crying even more. I told him not to worry. Then, while crying, he requested me to sign it,” Babar added.
Babar Azam expressed his relief after securing their first victory in the T20 World Cup on Tuesday. He mentioned that they couldn’t complete the chase of 107 runs in fewer overs due to the challenging pitch conditions. After facing consecutive losses against the USA and India in their initial Group A matches, the match against Canada became crucial for Pakistan. In pursuit of a modest target, Pakistan relied on Mohammad Rizwan’s unbeaten 53 runs off as many balls and Babar’s contribution of 33 runs to achieve victory in 17.3 overs.
“Good for us, we need this win. We started well with the bowling, in the first six overs we know we had to be up to the mark,” Babar said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
