Imad Wasim: “We don’t criticise him (Babar) here, we try to explain technical points. However, that doesn’t mean we hate him. If we write something about someone, it isn’t out of hate”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm spinner Imad Wasim has insisted that just because he or anyone else shows tough love to star batsman Babar Azam, it doesn’t mean they hate him.
Imad, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, noted that he criticises Azam on certain aspects of his game as he wants the 29-year-old to get better and achieve more success.
There have been rumours of a rift between the duo, but Imad has repeatedly brushed it aside, saying that they respect each other.
“We don’t criticise him (Babar) here, we try to explain technical points. However, that doesn’t mean we hate him. If we write something about someone, it isn’t out of hate. We also take criticism when we play. We are not blind fans; we try to talk on cricket-based facts,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam stepped down as captain after the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, where he scored 320 runs in nine matches, which included four fifties, at an average of 40.
Pakistan won their first two games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they bounced back to take down Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to progress to the semi-finals.
The men in green ended their campaign in disappointing fashion as England crushed them by 93 runs.
Azam will now represent Pakistan in their three-match Test series against Australia, which gets underway on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi