Azhar Mahmood, a former all-rounder for Pakistan, has publicly defended Babar Azam, calling him the country’s only superstar and denouncing the treatment of the batter by past players and social media commentators. The comments were made on Wednesday, August 19, just before Pakistan’s opening three-match Test series contest against England at Headingley in Leeds.
Mahmood, who collaborated closely with Babar while he was a member of the Pakistan coaching team, disclosed that the star batsman was “really down” following criticism from social media gurus and former players while he was having trouble scoring runs.
Mahmood claims that Babar is a reserved individual who has experienced a great deal. Additionally, he stated that the 31-year-old is currently the “only superstar” in Pakistani cricket and that the nation’s citizens are continuously undermining him.
He said, “He (Babar) is very shy and has been through a lot. I spent a lot of time with him – around five months – when he was out of the team after the England series. He was really down because of the way he was being treated in Pakistan by former players and social media pundits.”
After a poor run of results, Babar was dropped from Pakistan’s Test team for the last two games of their home series against England in October 2024. Before the selectors benched him for the next two matches after Pakistan had lost one of those Tests by an innings and 47 runs, the batter received a lot of criticism. Mahmood was straightforward in his criticism of how Pakistan handles its best-known batsman in the current lineup.
The right-handed hitter will lead the visitors in the red-ball assignment and has been added to Pakistan’s team for the forthcoming three-match Test series against England. According to Mahmood, Babar performs better when given leadership duties.
