India, Feb. 20 -- Pakistan's Champions Trophy campaign got off to a nightmare start, and Babar Azam has found himself at the center of criticism following their crushing 60-run defeat to New Zealand. Former cricketer Basit Ali did not hold back, slamming Babar for his lack of intent, accusing him of playing for himself rather than the team.

Opening the batting alongside Saud Shakeel, Babar crawled to 64 off 90 balls in Pakistan's chase of 321, leaving the team in a dire position. His conservative approach, coupled with failures from Mohammad Rizwan (3 off 14) and Saud Shakeel (6 off 19), meant Pakistan's innings never gained momentum.

While lower-order batters Khushdil Shah (69 off 49) and Salman Agha (42 off 28) injected some late urge...