“If you want to see Babar improve, you should call him, meet him, and tell him in private,” says former Pakistan skipper
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt slammed Shoaib Akhtar for criticizing Babar Azam’s communication abilities while Butt disagreed with Akhtar’s assertions, saying that rather than developing his communication skills, the focus should be on improving his cricketing abilities.
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt slammed Shoaib Akhtar for criticizing Babar Azam’s communication abilities. During a recent appearance on a local news channel, Akhtar criticized the Pakistani Players and asserted that Babar isn’t a big brand because he can’t speak English.
However, Butt disagreed with Akhtar’s assertions, saying that rather than developing his communication skills, the focus should be on improving his cricketing abilities. He also urged Akhtar not to target a player publicly on live television.
“The very fact that we are talking about him proves that he’s a brand. You only talk about the relevant person. He will learn with time. There are so many players in Pakistan who learned the language when they lived abroad. I don’t know why he (Akhtar) needed to say things like that. We should support him. You don’t need to talk about these things on public platform. If you want to see him improve, you should call him, meet him, and tell him in private,”
Butt said in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.
Butt added that Babar shouldn’t be forced to learn a second language because he doesn’t have to read the news or do voiceovers.
“He (Babar) is a sensible person. If he doesn’t have a command of a second language, there is nothing bad about it. Many athletes speak in their mother tongue intentionally when they are at the top of the podium, and ask the translator to convey the message. We should feel proud that we have ownership of our language. Yes, there is nothing bad in knowing another language. But Babar ko naa toh kisi draamey ka voiceover karna hai, naa hi TV pe khabrein padhni hain. (But neither does Babar have to give a voiceover for a drama series nor does he have to read news on television),”
he added.
Babar is currently leading Peshawar Zalmi in the ongoing Pakistan Super League.