‘Naa koi baat karne ka tarika..’: Star Pakistan bowler mocks skipper Babar Azam, watch viral video

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has slammed Babar Azam for his poor communication skills, asserting that the Pakistan captain has failed to become a big brand because he of his inability to speak English.

“Abhi aap dekh le, koi character nahi team mein. Naa koi baat karne ka tarika. (You can see there’s no character in the team, nor they know how to talk). How awkward it looks when they come to the presentation. Kitna mushkil hai English seekhna aur baat krna? (How difficult is it to learn and speak English?). Cricket is one job, and handling media is another. If you can’t speak, I am sorry, but you won’t be able to express yourself on TV,” Akhtar, 47, said in an interview with a local Pakistani channel.

“I want to openly say that Babar Azam should be the biggest brand in Pakistan, but why hasn’t he become the biggest brand in Pakistan? Because he can’t speak,” he added.

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar says Babar Azam cannot speak and hence he is not the biggest brand in Pakistan. Modern-day cricketers in Pakistan cannot speak on media, TV or in post-match presentations.

Do you agree with this statement? pic.twitter.com/xMrNwYQe1X

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) February 21, 2023

Akhtar remarked that advertisement companies are still choosing him, Wasim Akram and Shahid Afridi over Babar and other active cricketers because their communication skills are better than the current lot.

“Is there any other cricketer who can speak well? Why do only I, Shahid Afridi, and Wasim Akram get all the advertisements? The reason is that we take it as a job,” he added.

Babar has faced criticism for bad English speaking skills in the past too. “I’m a cricketer; my job is to play cricket. I am not a ‘gora’ who knows English thoroughly. Yes, I am working on it, but you learn these things over a period of time; you can’t just suddenly learn it,” Babar had once said