Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar recently make a controversial statement when he criticised skipper Babar Azam’s English speaking skills. After Babar, Akhtar tried to school former wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal in a live TV show.
Before trolling Akmal, he praised him while talking to the host of a show on Pakistan's ARY News as he said, “Kami is our match winner…he must be listening to this…he has played really well for Pakistan.”
But soon it took a different turn when Akhtar decided to troll Akmal's accent, “mai sun raha tha, ye bhi keh raha tha sakreen…sakreen ni hota hai screen hota hai (I heard him speak, he was saying ‘sakreen’…it’s screen and not sakreen)”.
“You have to note these things, my intention was not to belittle Babar… he is a brand face…I want him to look that way,” he added.
The 47-year-old also drew comparison with Azam and former Indian skipper Virat Kohli as he said, “Babar is as big a player as Virat Kohli, if you see Virat’s video…he speaks fluently.”
Earlier, Akmal had defended Azam on another show and took a dig at Akhtar as he said, “Jitne Babar ad kar rha hai, utne Shoaib Bhai bhi nhi kar rhe honge.” (The number of advertisement Babar is doing these days, I am sure Shoaib (Akhtar) must not be doing as many.)
He is our captain. The world knows him and he’s world’s number 1 player. He’s becoming better in speaking, media handling and everything he’s getting is due to the cricket he is playing. He’s doing fine there.”
Earlier the 'Rawalpindi Express' wanted Azam to learn the language as he feels that the skipper lacks character.
"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," Akhtar told Suno News.
