- May 15, 2025
The PSL is bound to provide its share of drama on or off the field. With the crazy surrounding the hairdryer awards, an accidental mention of the IPL, and of course the Sam Billings Instagram story where he compared the fastest and slowest fifties this season and nicknamed Babar Azam the second slowest fifty. Fans have been going wild ever since. Did he mean no harm, or was that a fair reference to Pakistan’s star batter?
The Instagram Story That Lit the Fire
Sam Billings may have only needed a few seconds and a caption to ignite social media. His now-infamous Instagram story showed two innings side by side: A Lahore Qalandars batter smashing a fifty in 19 balls, and Babar Azam lumbering to a fifty from 47 balls. The post pointed out that each inning was played in a winning cause, but there was no mistaking the contrast, and nothing to ignore.
For cricket fans, it warranted more than a meme. It really placed the spotlight on the much-talked-about topic of Babar’s strike rate. And as it came from an active PSL player, this form of trolling had a sharper edge. Was Billings just having fun, or was he articulating what many, including players, feel – that Babar’s approach is perhaps detrimental rather than beneficial?
Babar Azam’s Batting: Elegant or Excessive?
Babar Azam isn’t your typical batter; Babar is now amongst the elite batters from Pakistan in modern-day cricket, and that carries with it a certain expectation. And while his fifty from 47 balls was technically job done, it nonetheless raises further questions about Babar’s ability to perform his role in T20 cricket.
In a time where momentum shifts can happen in a couple of overs from the likes of Travis Head and Jos Buttler, Babar’s innings at such a slow tempo will come increasingly under the microscope. Critics bang the drum that while Babar brings stability, he does not bring tempo or rev up the engine when it dictates the innings/match. And in franchise T20s – and especially in locations like the PSL – that distinction could be the difference between 160 and a winning total of 200.
PSL 2025 Drama & The Bigger Picture
Babar Azam has become the target of a friendly social media feud with his teammates throughout his PSL 2025 season. During the 2025 tournament, Billings was able to shed light on one stat referencing Babar Azam: the pace at which he scored his fifty during the HBL PSL 2025 season. The trolling came at a tricky time during the PSL 2025 season, in-season tensions between India and Pakistan had led to the PSL being put on pause.
To sum up, trolling is not simply another stat or gut jab on social, it is about how players assess performances through narrative under scrutiny, especially from big players like Babar Azam. We are at the tail end of the PSL 2025 season, the playoffs are almost among us, when narratives are heightened; every single inning matters now and becomes sensationalized by every mistake someone might make, especially against Babar Azam.
Everything is fine and dandy for Billings to share his quirky stats, but he sparked the hot topic yet again regarding Babar’s T20 method of batting. Some Babar supporters enjoy the classical route he takes in his craft, while others think he is stuck in the past with the quickened pace of T20.
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