Shoaib Malik reacts to comments made by Shoaib Akhtar regarding Babar Azam’s captaincy

Babar Azam is one of the greatest batters that Pakistan have produced and the technique with which he bats is something to be in awe of. The range of shots in his skillset also make him one of the best batters in the world. He has shown his class in all formats of the game and has been named player of the twice consecutively in the past two years

​The 28-year-old was named the 2022 Men’s ODI Player of the Year and the ICC Men’s Player of the Year. The right-handed batsman tied Virat Kohli’s record for most consecutive ODI Player of the Years. As Peshawar Zalmi competes in the eighth season of the Pakistan Super League, Babar is the team’s current captain, but that is an aspect the player needs to work upon a lot.

In the recently completed home season which started after the T20I World Cup, Pakistan won just one match out of the eight matches (3 ODIs and 5 Tests) they competed in. That sparked a lot of questions which the Pakistan skipper had to duck regarding some of the captaincy decisions he had made. 

How did Shoaib Malik defend Shoaib Akhtar’s comments?

Shoaib Malik spoke to Pakistan cricket in a video and spoke about the comments made by his former teammate. He said, “It’s his [Akhtar] opinion, and yes, we should respect that, only if that opinion is not hurting the sentiment of an individual player. After hearing that statement, the thing that came in my mind was that he gives his statements bluntly. He has a clean heart, and always speaks positively about everyone.” 

He then defended the right-arm fast bowler and the comments made by him. He said, “His statement was not meant to hurt anyone. I understood from his statement that he was only trying to say that it’s the demand of modern cricket to groom your personality along with your cricket skills to become a better brand. I know Babar is working on things that Akhtar has pointed out.”