Former Pakistan cricketer Azhar Ali supported Babar Azam when he attacked Ahmed Shehzad for unnecessarily criticizing the captain of the current team. He said former cricketers talk nonsense and express their grudges on live television shows.
Babar Azam has been under the radar since the Pakistan national cricket team was eliminated from the T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Green faced an early exit as India along with the United States of America (USA) qualified for the Super 8th stage of the tournament.
Pakistan, under Babar Azam, seems clueless in the tournament. They first faced a disappointing loss to the United States of America (USA) and that brought them a lot of criticism. They lost in the super over because they looked torrid with bat and ball.
Pakistan then had a better performance against India but joy turned to agony for them when they lost the game from the winning position. They lost the game by 6 runs before the defeat between the United States and Ireland eliminated Pakistan from the tournament.
Amidst the poor performances, captain Babar Azam has become an easy target. Many fans and pundits have criticized him for his poor leadership and batting. So far, the captain has scored just 91 runs in the 3 games at a strike rate of around 104, failing to lead from the front.
One of the biggest critics of Babar Azam has been Ahmed Shehzad. The former Pakistan cricketer has not gone easy on the batsman as he called him the king of social media and pointed out that he has the most runs in the team’s lost cause. He had declared:
“You say you are the greatest player in the world. Tell me, you have 1,400 runs in your losing statistic. What king is he? “You have highlighted your small things on social media and made them so big that you fooled the people of Pakistan.”
Azhar Ali shoots Ahmed Shehzad for his criticism of Babar Azam
After Ahmed Shehzad didn’t go easy on Babar Azam, Azhar Ali came out to support the captain. He lashed out at the former Pakistan opener, saying that people are sitting in front of the TV and venting their grudges on him. He criticized Shehzad and said that he should analyze what he has done in his career.
Azhar Ali mentioned that criticism should not be personal and stated that if Babar Azam did not respond to any player it would not mean that they would talk rubbish about him. As quoted by Cricwick, the former Pakistan cricketer stated:
“Some recently retired players now sit on TV, talk nonsense and vent. Look at what you have achieved in your career. Sitting on TV and criticizing Babar for any other player is easy, but the criticism should not be personal. “Just because Babar can’t answer you doesn’t mean you can say whatever nonsense you want.”