Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had recently gratified star batsman Babar Azam with the responsibility of One-Day International (ODI) captaincy. Babar has emerged as one of the best batsmen of the current generation, and he’s even compared with the fab four- a list which consists of batsmen like Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root.
Recently, Babar attended his first-ever virtual conference where he spoke about many things, including the fact that he is working on his English-speaking skills. The 25-year-old had expressed that in order to become a complete captain, one must be able to interact comfortably with the media.
“I’m a cricketer; my job is to play cricket. I am not a ‘gora,’ who knows English thoroughly. 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.
However, Babar’s comments regarding the improvement of the English language didn’t go down well with former internationals Shoaib Akhtar and Rashid Latif. Both the past legends were clearly not impressed with the newly appointed skipper.
Akhtar opined the youngster needs to learn from Imran Khan, who led the national side and earned respect worldwide. The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ said Babar needs to work on his fitness and communication skills etc.
“Babar Azam wants to be a captain like Imran Khan, but this does not mean that it will only be related to playing cricket. He needs to take a leaf out of PM Imran’s book with regards to personality as well,” said Akhtar.
“Please don’t speak about things which we already know from the past ten years. We won’t buy this argument. Babar has to sharpen up his communication skills, his personality, ability to lead from the front, fitness level etc. I think he has a lot to prove,” the 44-year-old added.
Former wicket-keeper Rashid believed that Babar looked visionless in the press conference. He said that the young captain should have made a strong statement rather than talking about the language barrier or comparison with Indian stalwart Virat Kohli.
“When the captain is sitting in a press conference, he gives insight about his vision, but this was clearly lacking,” said Latif. “Our captain is giving headlines about the language barrier and things we already know, like comparison with Virat Kohli,” said Rashid as quoted by CricketPakistan.
“Babar should have made a strong statement rather than just following the script given to him. You have already showcased that your mental attitude and approach is not up to the mark,” the 51-year-old added.
