Veteran opener Fakhar Zaman has clarified his post about Babar Azam’s exclusion from the last two tests against England earlier this year.
The left-handed asserted that he did not criticise the board’s decision, but former players and fans as they wanted Babar Azam dropped despite his accolades.
Babar Azam has been left out for the last two England tests, to bring in Kamran Ghulam Zaman posted how India stood up for Virat Kohli even when struggled.
The veteran opined that dropping arguably Pakistan’s best batter over the years sends a negative message.
During a recent interaction, Zaman pointed out that he made the post on X before the squad was announced. He stressed that his response was down to the social media criticism of Babar.
It’s concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam. India didn’t bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively. If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan…
— Fakhar Zaman (@FakharZamanLive) October 13, 2024
“I thought about it later and felt that I should not have tweeted. But people got the tweet completely wrong. They thought that I was criticising the decision of the board, but this is 100 per cent wrong.”
“If you see the timing of the tweet, it was done before the board made its decision. I saw in the news for 2-3 days that journalists and former players were criticising him (Babar Azam).”
“And I thought to myself, Babar has done so much for the team, but they still wanted him to be dropped.”
The 34 year old got himself in trouble as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sent him a show-cause notice. Mohsin Naqvi said the tweet was one fo the main reasons he wasn’t considered ahead of the limited overs tour of Australia.
Fakhar Zaman suggested he regretted making the post, and urged youngsters not to criticise the board’s selection calls, atleast their playing days.
“I saw that and tweeted my opinion out. But I understand that no one is bigger than the board.”
“I will even tell my junior cricketers that however big you become, you are not bigger than the board and you should not be criticising them during your playing days.”
“But ya, my clarification is that I made my tweet before the team was announced.”
The Men in Green recently scripted a 3-0 ODI series win in Pakistan tour of South Africa 2024, with test series scheduled to begin on December 26 at SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium.
