“He didn’t listen to me” - Former Pakistan cricketer takes a dig at Babar Azam ahead of India game

Former Pakistan keeper-batter Umar Akmal has made a huge statement on Babar Azam, stating that he didn’t try to improve Pakistan’s bench strength while he was leading the team for almost five years due to his likes and dislikes.

Speaking to a local TV channel, Umar Akmal asserted that Babar didn't even listen to him on giving him a fair chance of being a finisher in the team. He also added that the teams with good back-up players will only excel in the current world of cricket.

“Babar was captain for nearly five years most of the time in all formats and he never tried to build up the bench strength due to his likes and dislikes,” Umar Akmal stated on a local Pakistani TV channel.

“He didn’t listen to me and for five years when he was captain he never bothered to try to build a strong bench because only teams with good backup players do consistently well in all formats,” he added.

Babar Azam was in the spotlight for his extremely slow knock of 64 runs in 90 balls in the 321-run chase against New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 tournament opener. Babar opened the innings alongside Saim Ayub as the actual opener Fakhar Zaman was injured during Pakistan’s fielding.

Pakistan went on to suffer a 60-run loss vs New Zealand. For Men In Green to stay alive in the tournament, they have to bag a win in the must-win match against India on Sunday, February 23.

Pakistan squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

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