Babar Azam is well-known as one of the finest batters in the modern world, known for his renowned for his leadership qualities, steady play, and graceful batting technique. However, for the past couple of years, the batting star has been under the pump from many sides including fans, journalists and ex-cricketers. Some criticisms make sense, others don’t. Some go to extreme lengths of criticising so much so that it feels like a personal hatred. The question is; Is Babar Azam’s criticism justified or just personal hate?
In 2019, Babar was named the captain of the Pakistan cricket team for the T20Is, ODIs, and Tests before taking over as the Test captain. Pakistan has experienced tremendous success under his direction, including a historic series victory against South Africa in the Test series, a series win over three of the four SENA countries after a gap of more than eight years and leading Pakistan to the top of the ODI rankings for the first time.
However, his criticisms began in mid-2022 when certain ex-cricketers targeted his captaincy and lack of runs. This became a major deal following the 2023 Asia Cup and during the 2023 ODI World Cup. He resigned from his captaincy role after the event but was remade the white-ball captain in March 2024. His leadership has been questionable in recent times, especially following a similar script and not thinking out-of-the-box tactics but his batting has had a big influence.
Also Read: Report Card: How good was Babar Azam as Pakistan Captain
Is Babar Azam’s Criticism Justified?
Babar has been going through a lot of hardship and has changed in appearance. However, the main cause of repeated failures isn’t his skill or technological problems but the mounting emotional strain. He’s turned into a troll; since he’s a human, hate and trolls will inevitably affect him, despite his “Mujhay koi farq nahi parta” or “It doesn’t matter to me” in response to his critics.
It did. He doesn’t appear to be the same player. Most of the hatred he has seen in his career has been unjustified and unfounded. When he was hitting hundreds of runs against every team in the world, he was singled out, detested, and ridiculed. His fellow citizens even chastised him for his sharp jabs, merely to garner attention.
As Babar became the talk of the town, attention-seeking journalists and YouTubers began to use their platform to garner attention by defaming him, and aspiring cool admirers followed suit. It appears as though these individuals relish and eagerly await for his mistakes. The same guys who for three years sang “laut aao kohli, whoever prayed for Kohli’s downfall you won” are now pressuring Babar and even calling for his dismissal. People fell in love with him because of his performances, not because he made them do so.
It’s one thing to respect your competition, but it’s quite another to wish for your fiercest opponent’s success while simultaneously celebrating the fall of your national hero and captain, who is revered throughout the globe.
Also Read: Babar Azam Captain Achievements for Pakistan throughout these four years
Shoaib Jatt Saga; The Centre of Babar Azam’s Criticism
Sports journalist Shoaib Jatt is known for his penchant for controversy, which involved the Pakistani captain. He seems to target Babar specifically for many things. Even when not leading the side anymore, Babar was still criticised after Pakistan lost to Bangladesh in the Test series.
Shoaib was at the centre of the controversy when a private WhatsApp discussion was leaked during a live show of Azam. The screenshot was taken by Shoaib Jatt, who then displayed it on a live TV show.
While on the broadcast, Azhar Ali, the former captain of Pakistan, asked Shoaib Jatt about the privacy violation involving Babar’s private conversation, wondering whether they asked Babar for permission. He further stated that they should have gotten Azam’s consent <before displaying his private communication on live television.
Shoaib Jatt’s answer was nonsensical and irrational—a perfect representation of his general speech attitude. He said that since journalists are free to report on anything they find, even without permission.
Before this incident, there were whispers on several local sports stations that Skipper Azam tried to get in touch with PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf but Ashraf didn’t answer his calls. On his sports show, Shoaib Jatt made an effort to refute this allegation; nonetheless, it is inappropriate to respond to such claims by disclosing someone’s private conversation—especially the captain of the Pakistani team and the top-ranked batter in the world.
Azhar called them out, quite rightly. Whether the screenshot is real or not is another story, but it’s absurd that this “journalist” believes he has the right to publish conversation logs. Professionalism and work ethics are not mutually exclusive. They come up with fresh ways to get lower every day.
Ahmed Shehzad, Shoaib Malik, M Amir in the mix of Babar Azam’s Criticism
Even Ahmed Shehzad, a current Pakistani cricketer, publicly criticized Babar and damaged his image on a TV show in Pakistan. Shehzad highlighted Babar’s underwhelming stats in major tournaments, stating that the Pakistani captain’s T20I average drops to just 27 on such occasions.
During a passionate outburst on live TV, Shehzad criticized Pakistan’s poor performance under Babar’s leadership, stating they have been defeated by average teams and even by the reserve squads of top teams.
His statement regarding Babar having “friends” in the team was one of the highlights. This “doosti yaari” is not new in Pakistan cricket. It is an old problem where certain cricketers are linked with their colleagues and letting them play not based on merit. It goes way back in the 70s and 80s. But guys like Ahmed and even Shoaib Malik, who famously tweeted of Doosti Yaari itself when Pakistan lost to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2022 final, had been critical regarding this.
Little do they know, they had played on the very same issue they played on. For instance, Malik’s average in England is worse than bowlers like Trent Boult and Tino Best. Still, he was picked for the 2013 and 2017 Champions Trophy and 2019 ODI World Cup. Collectively, Malik scored only 87 runs at an average of under ten in eleven matches. No one bets an eye on their failures while enjoying their fullest with personal connections but tends to criticise the moment they are dropped. It’s all fun and games until it’s on you, perhaps.
Mohammad Amir was no stranger to this. He accused Misbah ul-Haq and Waqar Younis, the then head and bowling coaches in 2020, of his sudden retirement. That all happened when the player himself was not up to the mark in recent performances and hence he was dropped. Let’s not forget his consistent hamstring issues.
For evidence, this article was written by the Green Team on the debate whether Amir should be part of the T20 World Cup 2021 squad. The numbers don’t lie and it was evident he was not required for that moment.
In light of all this, it is up to the star batter himself to shut his critics by simply performing with the bat. His lack of runs has tightened him which has put more pressure on him. Babar Azam needs to start with his fitness and then his technique. He should realise his worth and become the modern great he truly was meant to be.
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