Pakistan cricket team’s fielding performances have come under a lot of criticism in the recent past. During the recently concluded Test series against Australia, there were several missed catches and fielding errors that left the fans frustrated. Pakistan fans were left disappointed once again when Babar Azam missed an extremely easy catch during the first T20I encounter against New Zealand in Auckland on Friday. Williamson miscued a shot off the bowling of Abbas Afridi and the ball went straight towards Babar at mid-on. it should have been an easy catch but Babar misjudged it completely and ended up wasting a simple chance. Social media was not happy and fans started roasting him for the missed opportunity.

Dropped catch by Babar azam

Its okey Babar king

You are our hero#PAKvsNZ #PakistanCricketTeam#BabarAzam #ShaheenAfridipic.twitter.com/4FmA5mBiFz pic.twitter.com/Zk4sdUo0XJ

— Abdul_Basit (@abdulbasit_true) January 12, 2024

Pakistan won the toss and their new captain Shaheen Shah Afridi asked New Zealand to bat in the first Twenty20 international in Auckland on Friday.

Tactical drop yes Babar !#BabarAzam #BabarAzam pic.twitter.com/8EBAItJWaF

— Mary Marouf (@Cricket_istic) January 12, 2024

Experienced seam bowler Shaheen said he based his call on previous matches at Eden Park, which stages the first match of the five-game series.

BABAR AZAM DROPS THE CATCH. WHAT’S HAPPENING#NZvsPAK pic.twitter.com/ZIpoqPNEEn

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) January 12, 2024

“It looks a good wicket to me and history tells us that chasing here is very good,” said Shaheen, whose team is coming off a 3-0 Test series loss in Australia.

Babar Azam dropped Kane Williamson in the easiest catch of the century.

Main toh na sehta Afridi bhai#PAKvsNZ pic.twitter.com/roBifkqWRb

— Johns (@JohnyBravo183) January 12, 2024

“It’s not easy — Test cricket to T20 cricket — but I think we’ve prepared hard over the last few days and I think we’re ready to play.”

Legspinner Usama Mir and seamer Abbas Afridi were named to make their T20 debuts.

Shaheen is leading Pakistan for the first time in any format after Babar Azam forfeited the captaincy in the wake of their failure to make last year’s 50-over Cricket World Cup semi-finals.

New Zealand will be led by veteran batter Kane Williamson, who wasn’t involved in December’s home ODI and T20 series against Bangladesh while recovering from a knee injury.

Williamson said New Zealand will use the series to begin their preparations for the T20 World Cup in June.

“The key thing is getting nice and clear on our style against one of the top T20 teams in the world. It’s a great opportunity for us and it starts tonight,” he said.

Spin-bowling allrounder Mitchell Santner was omitted after testing positive for Covid-19.

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (capt), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears. 

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Aamer Jamal, Usama Mir, Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf.

(With AFP inputs)