Babar Azam has once again set the bar pretty high for a cricket captain by displaying one of the highest forms of sportsmanship — making sure his teammate Khushdil Shah gets credit for his match-winning performance.
On Thursday, Shah stepped into a sinking boat of a match against the West Indies and turned the opening ODI of the three-match series around. Having started the over needing 44 off 24, Shah’s hitting saw them end it needing 24 off 18. His 23-ball 41 not out overshadowed all the other players' performances.
Lovely from Babar Azam ?
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 9, 2022
He gives Khushdil Shah his POTM award for Khushdil's 23-ball 41pic.twitter.com/JT4xeyjnoV
This was not lost on Azam, who, when awarded the Man of the Match prize, decided to hand it over to Shah, someone he thought was more deserving.
ESPN posted the moment on Twitter, praising the captain.
سب تعریف اللہ پاک کے لیے ہے، الحمد لله ہمیں پہلے میچ کامیابی نصیب ہوئی۔ بہترین ٹیم ورک رہا اور کپتان @babarazam258 نے ایک مظبوط بنیاد رکھا کر جیت میں کلیدی کردار ادا کیا۔ انشاءاللہ اگلے میچیز میں بھی ٹیم پاکستان ایسی ہی شاندار کارکردگی کا مظاہرہ کریگی۔
— Khushdil Shah (@KhushdilShah_) June 8, 2022
پاکستان زندہ باد ✌️ pic.twitter.com/AJlo06KqWL
Shah thanked God for the success in the first ODI and credited the "great team work". He tagged Azam and appreciated him for keeping the foundation strong as it is what enabled the win. "Insha Allah Pakistan will keep performing wonderfully in the next matches as well," he tweeted.
