Babar Azam: “In Pakistan, there is no concept of mental health, nor is there any work being done on it, while foreign players give mental health a lot of importance. Here, if someone is falling, we just keep pushing them down – and make memes out of them”
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Star batsman Babar Azam has admitted there is “no concept of mental health” in Pakistan and wants this to change.
He noted that many foreign cricketers have placed great importance on mental health and urged the men in green to follow in their footsteps.
Having experienced the highs and lows of cricket, the 30-year-old pointed out that when a Pakistani player is going through a tough period, people “keep pushing them down – and make memes out of them”.
“In Pakistan, there is no concept of mental health, nor is there any work being done on it, while foreign players give mental health a lot of importance. Here, if someone is falling, we just keep pushing them down – and make memes out of them,” Azam said on the Peshawar Zalmi YouTube channel as quoted by Geo Super.
Azam recently captained the Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and struck 288 runs in 10 games, which included three fifties, at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
After PSL 10, he was not selected for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, which they won 3-0.
He also missed out on the tour of Bangladesh, where the men in green lost the T20I series 2-1.
As for the tour of the West Indies, Azam did not feature in the three-match T20I series.
He did, however, take part in the three ODIs and scored 56 runs at an average of 18.66.
Next up for Pakistan will be a T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan in Sharjah, which will take place from August 29 to September 7.
Afterwards, the men in green will participate in the 2025 Asia Cup, which will be held in the UAE from September 9 to 28.
Pakistan squad for UAE T20I tri-series and 2025 Asia Cup: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem
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