Pakistan's legendary pacer Shoaib Akhtar has once again targeted current team captain Babar Azam and the national side for their inability to confidently converse with the media in England. The 'Rawalpindi Express' believes that public speaking in English has become a daunting task for the Pakistani cricket team, he said in an interview with a local Pakistani channel.
"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.
The former star of the game called out Babar and gave his explanation on why he believes that star batter has failed to become the biggest brand in Pakistan. "I want to openly say that Babar Azam should be the biggest brand in Pakistan, but why hasn't he become the biggest brand in Pakistan? Because he can’t speak," Akhtar opined.
Earlier, when questioned by ex-cricketer Tanvir Ahmed about his inability to talk in English properly, Babar stressed the fact that his primary job was to play cricket. "I'm a cricketer, my job is to play cricket. I am not a 'gora,' who knows English completely. Yes, I am working on it, but you learn these things over a period of time, you can't just suddenly learn it," Babar had said.
The Pakistani skipper has played 47 Tests, 95 One Day International (ODIs), and 99 T20Is for Pakistan. Under his leadership, the 2009 T20 World Cup champions Pakistan finished runners-up in 2022. The batting superstar is leading the Peshawar Zalmi franchise in the 2023 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Babar's Peshawar Zalmi will meet Islamabad United in match No.12 of the PSL 2023 at the National Stadium in Karachi on Thursday.
