Umar Akmal came to the defence of former Pakistan captain Babar Azam during a recent podcast appearance, responding strongly to a suggestion that Babar should no longer be part of the national team.
Appearing as a guest on Ahmed Ali Butt’s podcast during coverage of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) match between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi, Umar Akmal expressed frustration at remarks questioning Babar Azam’s place in the Pakistan cricket team.
Upon being asked the question ‘Which player should not be in the Pakistan squad?’ by Ahmed Ali Butt, Umar Akmal was interrupted by another guest who took Babar Azam’s name.
Akmal, who’s cousins with Babar, vehemently defended the star batter against the host. He went on to highlight Babar’s stature in world cricket and pointed to his recent form as a temporary phase.
“Babar was the captain of Pakistan for 5 years, how can you say this?” said Akmal.
Akmal’s defense of Babar was based around the fact that the star batter was out-of-form. “If Babar is going through a difficult spell, should we speak about him this way?” said Akmal.
Akmal, who has not featured for Pakistan since 2019, seemed visibily frustrated with the suggestion that Babar should not be a part of the team anymore and ended by saying “You cannot talk like this.”
Babar Azam has come under great scrutiny after his recent performances in the HBL PSL X. Captaining Peshawar Zalmi, Babar has only managed to score a single run across two innings. Zalmi has also lost both their opening matches.
It remains to be seen whether Babar Azam could recapture his form in T20 format, after also being dropped for the T20- recent tour of New Zealand.
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