After being photographed enjoying a biriyani feast on the eve of the Pakistan Super League 2025 opener, Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam and the team have come under fire from supporters. On April 12, Peshawar Zalmi will take on the Quetta Gladiators in their season opener. The Peshawar Zalmi Javed Afridi hosted a lavish feast for the players prior to the tournament's commencement, which served more as a team-building exercise.
Before the tournament started, the players were served a good spread of food, and the fans took special notice of the biriyani they were eating. Fans were upset to see Babar and the others eat so much before a crucial match because Pakistani athletes' fitness is constantly being scrutinized.
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They expressed their displeasure on X, with many claiming that the PCB and the franchises do not care about fitness and that this is the reason why the Pakistani players are not fit.
Babar had previously been in the center of a contentious issue before the PSL 2025 season. When a journalist questioned the Peshawar Zalmi skipper about his silence during the Pakistan cricket crisis, they got into a heated altercation. Babar hit back, saying he will discuss things with the board and not in the open.
“Jaha mujhe bolna hoga, waha main bolta hu. Aur main media pe baithke nahi bolunga ki kya karna chahiye. Mujhe jaha jo bolna hota hain main kamre ke andar bol deta hu. Main yaha aake dhindora nahi pitunga ki social media me ye honi chahiye, ye meri job nahi hain. (Where I need to speak, I speak. And I won't sit in the media and say what should be done. Where I need to say something, I say it inside the room. I won't come here and make a big deal about it what should happen on social media, that's not my job)"
Babar intends to use the 2025 Premier League to regain his spot in the 2026 T20 World Cup.