(Source X)
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has faced a challenging period recently, reinstated before the T20 World Cup but grappling with his and the team’s performance during the tournament.
Following Pakistan’s exit from the ICC T20 World Cup, PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi initially called for “major surgery” but later retracted his statement, stating Babar’s future captaincy remains undecided.
In recent remarks to local media, the PCB chief emphasized preparations for hosting the ICC Champions Trophy next year and expressed optimism about India’s participation, with reports indicating India will play all matches in Lahore, including against Pakistan on March 1.
The Champions Trophy 2025 is scheduled to take place from February 19 to March 9, with the PCB having submitted the official draft schedule to the ICC.
There’s been no official update from the government regarding permission for the Indian team to travel to Pakistan for the upcoming tournament. Reports suggest India is unlikely to participate, pending a final decision from the central government.
Meanwhile, a viral clip of Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh from Star Sports’ Caught & Bold show has stirred controversy, where they laughed when asked to choose between Brian Lara and Babar Azam, prompting criticism for trolling Babar.
Former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal has expressed sympathy for Babar Azam, noting that Harbhajan has apologized privately for his remarks, emphasizing such matters shouldn’t have been aired publicly.
Kamran Akmal has voiced his thoughts on the controversy surrounding Harbhajan Singh’s remarks about Babar Azam.
“Our chat was regarding Babar Azam. Babar no doubt is the number one batsman of Pakistan currently, and has scored the most hundreds for Pakistan in T20I cricket. There is no doubt that Babar’s and Brian Lara’s classes do not match and all and the two should never be compared. But as cricketers, we shouldn’t compare them even for fun. This is the discussion we had and he too felt that he should not have said the things that he did”, said Akmal in the video posted by a Geo News journalist.
