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"Babar Azam Was Captain" Cousin Umar Akmal Defends Babar's Place In Pakistan Team

Akshita Patel

Umar Akmal defends Babar Azam [Source: @abdullahhammad4, @Team_BabarAzam/X.com]Umar Akmal defends Babar Azam [Source: @abdullahhammad4, @Team_BabarAzam/X.com]

Umar Akmal has come to the defence of Babar Azam, who has been facing criticism for his poor form in the ongoing PSL. Speaking during a podcast, Umar stood up for Babar when another guest suggested that Babar no longer deserved a place in the national team.

Babar, once hailed as the finest talent of Pakistan cricket from the modern-day generation, has lost all his fame due to a prolonged period of rough patch. He has been inconsistent across all formats since the last 2 years, especially in Test cricket.

Under his captaincy, Pakistan exited a couple of ICC tournaments from group stages. While he stepped down as captain, his form as a batter is reaching new lows each day.

Umar Akmal Still Believes In Babar Azam

In the ongoing PSL 2025 season, Babar Azam got dismissed on a duck and 1 run in two games against Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United. His cousin and former Pakistan cricketer Umar Akmal was discussing Azam’s form during a podcast.

When the podcast host asked which player should not be in the Pakistan squad, another guest quickly mentioned Babar Azam. Akmal, however, was clearly annoyed by the remark and strongly disagreed. 

"Babar was the captain of Pakistan for 5 years, how can you say this? If Babar is going through a difficult spell, should we speak about him this way? You cannot talk like this," Akmal said.

He reminded everyone that Babar was the captain of Pakistan for 5 years and has been one of the top batters in world cricket. He said that just because Babar is currently out of form doesn’t mean people should talk about him in a negative way.

Babar Urged To Give Up PSL Captaincy

Former Pakistan batter Sohaib Maqsood has openly advised Babar Azam to give up the captaincy of Peshawar Zalmi during the ongoing PSL 2025 season. After 2 back-to-back losses and poor personal form, Babar is under increasing pressure both as a leader and a batter. Maqsood said that the burden of captaincy is clearly affecting Babar’s performance and that Zalmi needs Babar the batter more than Babar the captain.