Earlier this week, Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir stirred a controversy when he compared bowling to Babar Azam with doing the same to a tailender. Amir, who represents Karachi Kings – Babar's former franchise in the Pakistan Super League – made the comment shortly before his side took on the Babar-led Peshawar Zalmi in its opening match of the league. Amir's comment drew significant criticism from fans and former cricketers alike, and even Shaheen Afridi, who is one of the leading pacers of Pakistan at the moment, couldn't suppress his emotions when he heard the remark from Amir.
In an interview with ARY News, Amir had said, “These kinds of matchups and player rivalries keep players on their toes. I personally like these sort of challenges because it keeps me focused. My job is to take wickets and win matches for my team, so for me, facing Babar or a tailender batting at number 10 will be the same.”
Afridi and Babar have been sharing the dressing room for many years now and the left-arm pacer reacted to the comment from Amir in a rather blunt manner.
“He said that for Babar? That's surprising. If you go anywhere in the world and say that Babar is playing for us, they will say 'Oh, Babar! (He's a) King,” Afridi told Pakistan news channel Geo News.
{{/usCountry}}“He said that for Babar? That's surprising. If you go anywhere in the world and say that Babar is playing for us, they will say 'Oh, Babar! (He's a) King,” Afridi told Pakistan news channel Geo News.
{{/usCountry}}“This shouldn't happen. Babar is our no.1 player and we respect him. If we, as Pakistanis, won't respect him, who else will do?” Afridi further stated.
Amir had a poor outing against Babar's Peshawar Zalmi, as he conceded 42 runs without a wicket in four overs. The pacer also stirred further controversy when he threw the ball in direction of Babar, venting out his frustration over a lack of wickets in the match. Peshawar had eventually won the match by two runs, as Babar scored an important 68 off 40 deliveries.