Grant Elliott: “Pakistanis themselves try to put him down, but his stats, technique, and shots speak for themselves. Show respect and back him even when he fails”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott has asked fans to show respect to Pakistan batsman Babar Azam and “back him even when he fails”.
Azam has found himself under mounting criticism for his failure to score runs consistently, which he used to do in the past.
During the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, the 30-year-old amassed 129 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
With Azam showing signs of getting back into form, Elliott stressed that Pakistani supporters need to stop trying to “put him down”.
“Pakistanis themselves try to put him down, but his stats, technique, and shots speak for themselves. Show respect and back him even when he fails,” he was quoted as saying on X, formerly known as Twitter.
After 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.
Pakistan then faced Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series, but Azam was not included in the squad.
The men in green won the series 3-0.
Pakistan’s next assignment will see them tour Bangladesh for a three-match T20I series in Mirpur from July 20 to 24.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub
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