Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali reckoned that Babar Azam still continues to enjoy huge popularity in the country despite his ongoing rough patch. Apart from his on-field performance, Babar’s off-field activities often gain much prominence on social media. It can be seen as a testament to his unmatched stardom, according to Ali. Babar has struggled to showcase his A-game in his recent assignments. In the recently concluded Test series against Bangladesh, Babar managed to score 64 runs across the two matches. Ali felt that Babar’s failure with the bat has hardly made any impact on the star Pakistan cricketer’s immense popularity.
“Babar Azam hasn’t been scoring runs. However, even if he is walking somewhere, the video of that is everywhere on the television. This is when he is out of form. It’s Babar Azam on one side, and all the remaining players on the other side. Every movement of his is on the television,” Basit Ali explained in a recent video on his YouTube channel.
Basit Ali compared Babar Azam’s fan following with that of former skipper Imran Khan, who led Pakistan to 1992 World Cup triumph. “He (Babar) is the number one in Pakistan in terms of fan following. We have seen the same with Imran Khan. When Imran used to come into the ground, everyone would just chant for him. Now look at Babar Azam, the whole of Faisalabad is crazy for him,” the 53-year-old said.
Basit Ali’s point was proven when Babar Azam was greeted with loud cheers during a recent practice session at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. The Pakistan white-ball captain was gearing up for the Champions One-Day Cup where he is set to represent the Mohammad Haris-led Stallions.
A video recently went viral on social media where Babar Azam was captured making his way out of the dressing room amid joyous chants. Fans, who were present at the stadium, went crazy after spotting the star cricketer on the balcony. Babar and the Stallions will face Shaheen Shah Afridi’s Lions in their first match in the Champions One-Day Cup on September 13.
Babar Azam will be aiming to make a strong statement in the domestic tournament. He has failed in the last few international matches. Babar has not been able to breach the 50-run mark in his last 16 Test innings.