Saeed Ajmal: “Babar, who is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars of Pakistan cricket, is going through a lull. Everyone is busy pulling him down”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Iconic spinner Saeed Ajmal is upset that everyone is pulling batsman Babar Azam down, saying he is “undoubtedly one of the biggest stars of Pakistan cricket”.
Azam has been going through a rough patch for quite some time, which has led to him getting bombarded with criticism.
Recently, he scored 87 runs in two games at the 2025 Champions Trophy, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
He then proceeded to score 129 runs in three ODIs against New Zealand, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
Ajmal noted that all cricketers go through bad patches and wants people to support the 30-year-old instead of pointing out his flaws all the time.
“Babar, who is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars of Pakistan cricket, is going through a lull. Everyone is busy pulling him down,” he was quoted as saying by TOK Sports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Following the New Zealand tour, Azam captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and made 288 runs in 10 matches, which included three fifties, at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
Despite his solid batting display in PSL 10, Azam was not picked for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, which will be played in Lahore from May 28 to June 1.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub