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Babar Azam and his team have convened in Dallas, preparing for their T20 World Cup campaign opener against hosts USA scheduled for Thursday. The Pakistan cricket team has been under scrutiny after a lackluster England tour, where they suffered a 2-0 defeat in the 4-match T20I series. Before kicking off their journey in the tournament, the team’s captain has attracted attention for allegedly body shaming his teammate Azam Khan. A video circulating on social media captures Babar referring to Khan as a ‘Gainda’ (Rhino) during a training session with the Pakistan team.
“Ay gainda [slur for overweight people] nai siddha hoya,” Babar could be heard saying.
Babar Azam has found himself in a controversy after using a derogatory term to refer to Azam Khan. Despite this incident, there seems to be no animosity between the captain and the wicketkeeper, as they have been seen sharing warm moments on multiple occasions. A similar instance took place during the fourth T20I of the England versus Pakistan series, where despite Pakistan’s loss to the 2022 T20 World Cup winners, the duo was spotted sharing friendly moments.
In the final match at The Oval on May 30th, Pakistan suffered a defeat by seven wickets. Azam Khan endured a tough performance, starting with a duck in the first innings. His struggles continued in the second innings as he missed some crucial catches, contributing to England’s victory. Despite this, Babar Azam made sure to uplift his wicketkeeper’s spirits. After the match, the captain approached Azam, placing a comforting arm around him, and whispered some encouraging words to cheer him up.
