Shoaib Akhtar, a renowned Pakistani bowler, criticised Men in Green skipper Babar Azam for his communication skills and claimed that his inability to speak English makes him a lesser brand.
The 47-year-old pacer, who holds the record for bowling the quickest delivery in international cricket, asserted that handling the media is a different skill from playing cricket and that Babar won’t be able to express himself if he is unable to communicate.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is arguably one of the finest cricketers in the world. In 95 ODI matches so far, Babar has smashed 4813 runs, laced with 17 centuries and 24 half-centuries. He even led Pakistan to the finals of the 2022 Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup in the same year, where his side ended as runners-up in both events.
Former Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar also chastised Babar for his poor communication skills. According to Shoaib, playing cricket is one profession and dealing with the media is another. If one is unable to speak, they will be unable to speak on television. He wants to proclaim out loud that Babar Azam should be Pakistan’s top brand, but that hasn’t happened because Babar is unable to speak.
“Is there any other cricketer who can speak well? Why only me, Shahid Afridi and Wasim Akram get all the advertisements? The reason is that we take it as a job,” he added.
