Lahore: Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam threatened to hit a section of fans with a water bottle and also mouthed few words at them angrily, the video of which went viral on social media.
The incident took place during a Pakistan Super League match of Peshawar Zalmi. Babar, who represents Peshawar in PSL, was sitting on the sidelines when few spectators started teasing him with ‘ZimBabar’ chants. The unnecessary chants made Babar agitated as he soon charged at them with a water bottle while being seated. At this, the fans chanted ‘ZimBabar’ more, forcing the star batter to give a mouthful.
The 29-year-old however stopped himself from going out of hands and sat on the chair to focus on the game. While Babar’s reaction on the video left many shocked, a section of netizens claimed the video is morphed to tarnish the cricketer’s image.
No doubt, Babar Azam is one of the prolific run-scorers for Pakistan in international cricket and is being compared with former India captain Virat Kohli. However, for the last couple of years, hit form and consistency took a dip, earning criticisms from all quarters. Notably, Babar choked against bigger opponents while scoring big against weaker teams including Zimbabwe. He even averages 57.75 against Zimbabwe in all formats. From there the ‘ZimBabar’ word came into existence.
Babar lost his captaincy at the end of the ODI World Cup 2023, after Pakistan finished fifth in the table, thus failing to make the semifinals of the mega extravaganza. The Pakistan Cricket Board named Shan Masood (Test) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (ODIs & T20Is) as replacement for Babar.