'Na unki hum sunte hain' - Babar Azam hits out at Aaqib Javed after his sarcastic remarks

Pakistan's Asia Cup 2022 campaign ended in disappointment as it concluded with a damaging team against Sri Lanka in the final. The Pakistani batters came under scrutiny in the aftermath of the match, with the skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan taking the brunt of it. Pakistani skipper Babar Azam retaliated with a stern response in the build-up to the England series.

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan faced criticism for their slow scoring rate in the recently concluded Asia Cup. Former Pakistani pacer Aaqib Javed had criticized the selectors for persisting with the opening pair for the upcoming T20 World Cup even after the Asia Cup debacle.

“Our only mindset is to persist with these two openers and rely on them. They are effective, but where? When you have scores of 150-160 or lower. When we have a match with Karachi Kings and the total is 180+, we never really tried or wished to get Babar Azam out early. He bats at his own pace, and the (required) run rate keeps rising. Mohammad Rizwan also did well in the PSL, but when these two bat together, you see similar performances from them,” the former World Cup-winning pacer said in an interview with Pak.TV.

The Pakistani skipper spoke to the press ahead of the England series and hit back at the former pacer's criticism stating that the team does not entertain the opinion of the outsiders. He remarked that every player goes through lean patches in their career, but does not warrant personal attacks from experts and former cricketers.

"It's okay if he feels that way. Everyone has their point of view, and I think it's better we think from Pakistan's perspective. He might have his opinion; however, we don't listen to him. We don't discuss outer talks within the team. Every player has gone through tough situations in their career so there shouldn't be any personal attacks,” Babar Azam said to the press on Tuesday.