Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar slammed Babar Azam for his poor communication skills and said that this is the reason for him being the big brand despite having a lot of talent and skills. He said that Babar can’t speak properly that’s why he can’t handle the media and is not able to express himself freely.
The Men in Green captain had a really bad run recently in the home series against England and New Zealand. Many fans and cricket experts raised questions about his individual performance and leadership skills. However, Akhtar, in an interview, criticized Babar’s communication skills and said that he couldn’t speak English.
“Abhi aap dekh le, koi character nahi team mein. Naa koi baat karne ka tarika. (You can see there’s no character in the team, nor do they know how to talk). How awkward it looks when they come to the presentation. Kitna mushkil hai English seekhna aur baat krna? (How difficult is it to learn and speak English?). Cricket is one job, and handling media is another. If you can’t speak, I am sorry, but you won’t be able to express yourself on TV,” Shoaib Akhtar said.
“I want to openly say that Babar Azam should be the biggest brand in Pakistan, but why hasn’t he become the biggest brand in Pakistan? Because he can’t speak,” he added.
He knew that Shoaib was coming: Shoaib Akhtar
Meanwhile, Akhtar also recalled a fiery incident during the Asia Cup 2010. Akhtar was frustrated by former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh as he smashed a six in the final over of the match and started celebrating wildly. Akhtar said that he was looking for Harbhajan in the hotel to fight but couldn’t find him. However, Harbhajan apologised to him the next day.
“I went looking for Harbhajan Singh in the hotel room to fight with him,” Akhtar had said in a video interview on the Helo app.
“He eats with us, roams around with us in Lahore, culture is similar to us, he is a Punjabi brother and yet he will misbehave with us? I thought I will go and fight with him in the hotel room. He knew that Shoaib was coming. But I couldn’t find him. I calmed down the next day and he also apologized.”
