WATCH: Simon Doull, Aamir Sohail engage in a heated discussion on-air over Babar Azam’s T20I strike rate

Doull suggested that Babar should not open for Pakistan in T20Is.

While Babar Azam has been a prolific run-scorer for his national team and domestic sides in the shortest format lately, his strike rate often draws him flak from the fans and cricket experts alike.

On Sunday (March 26), commentators Simon Doull and Aamir Sohail were engaged in a heated argument over Babar’s strike rate during the second T20I between Pakistan and Afghanistan at Sharjah.

It all started when Doull suggested that Babar, who is not part of the ongoing T20I series against Afghanistan, should not open for Pakistan in T20Is and Saim Ayub, Mohammed Haris should partner Mohammed Rizwan at the top.

“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,” Doull said on-air.

Sohail didn’t agree with Doull’s comment and argued that T20 teams are selected based on averages rather than strike rates.

“The T20 teams are selected on the basis of averages and not strike rates. The averages are more important than strike rates,” said Sohail.

The former Pakistan opener also gave Chris Gayle and AB De Villiers’ examples. “I don’t care about the strike rate, I look for the average. If you talk about best players in T20I like Chris Gayle and AB De Villiers, what is the strike-rate between 135 and 137?” he questioned.

Simon Doull then corrected Sohail and stated that Gayle’s strike rate is 158 while De Villiers’ is 145.

When Doull asked “What’s Babar’s strike rate?”, Aamir Sohail didn’t respond directly and said, “last time I checked….”

Babar Azam’s career strike rate in the shortest format is 127.80 after playing 99 matches for Pakistan.