LAHORE: Imam-ul-Haq has defended Pakistan captain Babar Azam after veteran Ahmed Shehzad slammed him for his “impressive” performance in T20 World Cup 2024.
“He is your captain, you don’t want to think of him as a captain. The world has made him a king, he is not,” Imam said, comparing the criticism to the body shaming anti-Babar critic Azam Khan.
Imam said Babar should honor his services to the team and play 250 international matches.
While justifying Babar’s lack of performance, Imam said his statistics in the last 20 games should not overshadow his statistics in the last 250 games, adding that he appreciates his contribution.
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He added: “We all have played for Pakistan and we all have the right to criticize. We are not happy with the performance of the team against India, but remember that the element of respect should not be overlooked.”
The leftist spoke out against Ahmed’s critics, calling Babar a “fake king” on Wednesday’s show.
But your (Babar’s) statistics are worse than mine… You faced 205 balls in the T20 World Cup in powerplays but failed to hit one six!”
Criticizing the Pakistan captain, Ahmed added: “You have destroyed the entire domestic structure. You have sacrificed people who have done well in domestic cricket to adjust your teammates.”
Imam Babar said that he did not like all the criticism he received and he did not have time to respond.
“At Geo News, we are here to talk about cricket, I don’t want to discuss only Babar, there are many things to discuss,” said the cricketer, urging fellow cricketers to respect everyone regardless of their position in the team.
