Pakistan cricket star and former captain Babar Azam has earned a huge contract with the BBL team Sydney Sixers for the upcoming Big Bash League 2025, with reports valuing the deal at around PKR 10 crore (approximately ₹4 crore). The contract makes Babar Azam among the most expensive in BBL history. However, it is still seven times lower than the highest-paid player seen in the Indian Premier League.
Just weeks earlier, Rishabh Pant made headlines when he was picked up by the Lucknow Super Giants for a staggering ₹27 crore, setting a new benchmark as the most expensive signing in IPL history. The ₹23 crore gulf between the two players’ contracts speaks volumes about the sheer commercial might of the IPL compared to its global counterparts.
While Babar’s arrival in the BBL is expected to draw significant attention and elevate the tournament’s profile, the financial disparity is impossible to ignore. His estimated earnings of around USD 360,000 may be monumental by BBL standards but remain modest in the global T20 ecosystem.
Indian T20 World Cup winning skipper Rohit Sharma spoke on team’s clash with arch-rivals Pakistan during the marquee T20I tournament last year, including vital contributions of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, calling his knock of 42 as worth “70 runs” on a tough pitch.
On June 9 last year, India defeated Pakistan by six runs in a thriller at New York’s Nassau County Stadium. The win was India’s second in the tournament, which saw Men in Blue end their 11-year-long trophy drought by beating South Africa by seven runs in the title clash at Barbados. India was undefeated throughout the tournament.
Speaking on the stadium, which was a makeshift facility with a drop-in pitch coming from Australia, Rohit said that while the stadium looked grand, they had to practice somewhere else as it lacked practice facilities. He also added that how dressing room in tents brought back old memories of him playing as a youngster in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan.
“The stadium was beautiful. When we reached the ground for the first time, there was a trophy unveiling ceremony, and that’s when I saw the ground for the first time. We were not allowed to train inside the stadium as there was no practice facility. It was somewhere else,” said Rohit on JioHotstar during the programme ‘Champions Waali Feeling Phir Se”.
“We could take the feeling of the ground only when we got to play the match. From first glance, Kaafi grand stadium lag raha tha (The stadium looked pretty grand). It was an open stadium, with good seating arrangements, although it was essentially a makeshift venue. So, the things you expect in a normal venue, you cannot get there. The dressing room was in a tent, which I had experienced as a youngster in Azad Maidan. It brought back those memories,” he added.
The skipper added that the stadium was a hard one to “figure out” in terms of a good total, ideal shot-making, scoring areas and bowler’s line and lengths, though it was more in favour of bowlers.
“So the first thing we did in our group talks was we completely took the pitch out of the equation. It had become easier for bowlers to adjust there, but not for us. We just wanted to focus on our skill set and winning the game. We just wanted to play our cricket,” he added.
During the match, Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first, and India was reduced to 2/19 with their openers Rohit and Virat Kohli failing. Then, a vital 39-run partnership between Rishabh Pant (42 in 31 balls, with six fours) and Axar Patel (20 in 18 balls, with two fours and a six) followed. India could make only 119 in their 20 overs.
Speaking on Rishabh’s counter-attack, Rohit said that no advice was given to the swashbuckling southpaw, and the batter took down bowlers well.
“Nhi, nhi nhi… kuch advice nahi tha (No, there was no advice for him). We just wanted Rishabh to be Rishabh. Do all these kinds of things and try to put the bowlers off, and he did that perfectly. His 42 was more like the 70, considering the conditions. It was a challenging pitch. Our plan was not to do 200 runs. We were looking to get 140, we lost wickets, but he played a crucial knock. It was 15-20 runs short (India’s total).”
(With Inputs From ANI)
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