Former South Africa batter Herschelle Gibbs has attacked former Pakistan captain Babar Azam over his English speaking skills, adding that the language barrier makes it hard for others to communicate with him. This isn’t the first time that a current or former cricketer has questioned Babar’s ability to communicate in English. While responding to a fan’s query, who asked Gibbs to give some batting advice to Babar amid his lean patch, the former South Africa opening batter suggested that Babar’s poor communication skills can be a bit challenging for others to put across a thought.

“Hey Gibbs, How about giving some suggestions to Babar Azam like you did back in 2021/2022 during PSL with Karachi Kings? I guess he won’t deny your interference this time,” the fan tweeted.

“Language is an issue with babar .. as you know his English isn’t great so it’s difficult to get points across to him,” Gibbs replied.

Language is an issue with babar .. as you know his English isn’t great so it’s difficult to get points across to him

— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) February 12, 2025

Meanwhile, former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal feels making Babar open is ruining his confidence and the team combination.

Babar, struggling for form, failed to quench his thirst for runs and returned to the dressing room after a ragged 10(23). Kamran feels Babar’s confidence and the team combination are suffering due to the current lineup.

“You are making Babar open. With this decision, the team combination is ruined, and so is Babar’s confidence,” Kamran said on his YouTube channel.

From Tests to ODIs, Babar has continued to endure scrutiny for his inconsistency. However, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan believes Babar is simply a victim of his own success.

“Babar has scored so many runs for Pakistan that we expect him to score a hundred in each game,” Rizwan was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying. “If we don’t judge him by those extreme expectations, you’ll find he’s still chipping in and contributing valuably for us.”

“As a captain, I expect a lot more of him too because of all he has done in the past,” Rizwan continued. “There is obviously an additional pressure because of it, and I’m sure he feels that too. But if you look at his innings in South Africa, he is still scoring runs. It’s not as if he has clear technical deficiencies, but he is still being tested. I am confident he’ll come out of it.”

(With IANS Inputs)

India captain Rohit Sharma‘s fitness remains a hot topic of debate amid his lean patch with the bat in Test cricket. Recently, former South African cricketer Daryll Cullinan had taken a swipe at Rohit’s fitness, calling him “overweight” and unfit for the rigours of a five-match Test series. Cullinan had labelled Rohit a “flat track bully” and even called him a liability to the team. Now, Cullinan’s compatriot Herschelle Gibbs has reacted to his comments on the Indian skipper.

Gibbs, a former teammate of Rohit at Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers (now defunct), has echoed Cullinan’s sentiments, saying that everything is visible on TV and doesn’t need to mention any names.

“I don’t need to mention any names. You can see everything on TV. Those guys that are unfit and carrying a little bit extra, I mean, the whole world is there to see. I think it’s up to the individual. I was only a batter. Rohit doesn’t bowl. It’s up to the individual for me with regards to how much they want to contribute, not only in their own specific skill. If you’re a bowler or a batter, your duty is still to be fit and to try and make a contribution in the field,” Gibbs told InsideSport.

Gibbs also suggested that it’s up to the players to figure out how they want to contribute to the team.

“Those guys that are unfit and carrying a little bit extra, I mean, the whole world is there to see. I don’t need to mention any names. The mindset should be, especially with a lot of T20 cricket and obviously with the Champions Trophy coming up, how much you want to contribute and make a difference for your team,” he added.

Rohit’s form has hit an all-time low in 2014, with the star batter managing just 152 runs in his last 13 Test innings at an average of 11.69.

With the five-match series against Australia tied at 1-1, Rohit has the chance to silence his critics in the remaining two matches in Melbourne and Sydney, respectively.

A Delhi court, which framed charges against four accused in the 2000 cricket match-fixing scandal case, said some matches of the India-South Africa test and ODI series were fixed and attempts were made to fix other fixtures. The two tests and five one-day internationals were held from February 19 to March 19, 2000. The court said, “Investigation also concluded that some of the matches were fixed and an attempt was made to fix some other matches.” It said noting the investigation that in the first test match at Mumbai from February 24 to 28, “It was decided that the South African Team will not score more than 250 runs in an inning and the same is evident from the statement of Pieter Strydom and Hansie Cronje before the King’s Commission.” In the second Test match at Bengaluru from March 2 to 6, the court noted that, “Though Hansie Cronje had spoken to other players as per the statements made before the King’s Commission, this match was not fixed although an attempt was made to fix it.” Noting the evidence before it, the court said that the first ODI on March 9 in Kochi was a fixed match.

“The conversation recorded on March 16, 2000, wherein Hansie Cronje demands outstanding payment and Hansie Cronje’s statement before King’s Commission admitting receiving of money from Sanjeev Chawla, clearly prove that the 1st One Day International was a fixed match,” it said.

“Statement of Hansie Cronje made before the King’s Commission that he had informed Sanjay (alias Sanjeev Chawla) about losing the first One Day International is further corroborated by the statement of others made before the King’s Commission,” the court added.

Regarding the second ODI at Jamshedpur on March 12, third ODI at Faridabad on March 15 and the fourth ODI at Baroda on March 17, the court said that Cronje, in his statement before the King’s Commission, said that “he was forecasting as to what would happen.” “Thus, though the matches were not fixed, it can be inferred that Hansie Cronje helped in giving inside information to the accused persons and helped them in placing bets and earning huge profits,” the court said.

Regarding the fifth ODI on March 19 at Nagpur, the court said that according to the recorded conversation, “it is evident that Hansie Cronje had agreed to fix the score of the match and he had also agreed to fix the individual score of Herschelle Gibbs. He had also spoken to Williams to give more than 50 runs in his 10 overs. Both were promised USD 15000 each.” “Though the players forgot about the deal in the heat of the game and did not play as per agreed terms, it can be concluded that a serious attempt was made to fix the match,” it added.

The court further noted, “From the recorded conversations, it is revealed that between the accused persons, large amounts of foreign exchange has also changed hands through hawala dealings for onward payment to the South African members who were part of the criminal conspiracy.”