Azhar Ali: “Just because Babar cannot reply to you doesn’t mean you can speak any rubbish you want”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali has defended white-ball captain Babar Azam from his critics, saying they can’t “speak any rubbish” they want.
Azhar particularly took aim at ex-players, saying they didn’t achieve much in their careers and are now “airing their grudges”.
The 39-year-old added that while they have the right to criticise the current crop of players in the team, it doesn’t mean they should cross the line and make it personal.
“Some recently retired players are now sitting on television, talking nonsense and airing their grudges. Look at what you achieved in your career. Sitting on TV and criticising Babar or any other player is easy, but criticism should not be personal. Just because Babar cannot reply to you doesn’t mean you can speak any rubbish you want,” Azhar was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam recently led Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup and accumulated 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
The men in green began their campaign with consecutive losses to the United States of America and India before bouncing back to defeat Canada and Ireland.
However, those victories went in vain as Pakistan were eliminated in the group stage of the competition.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
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