Babar Azam ‘Self-Proclaimed King’: Ex-Pakistan Captain Takes ‘Paid Campaign’ Dig, Drops ‘Virat Kohli’ Example

Disgraced former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt lashed out at the present Pakistan team after their loss to India at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Chasing a run-a-ball 120 on a tricky New York pitch, Babar Azam‘s side collapsed after the midway point in their innings, losing by six runs in the end. Now, Butt has joined in the criticism, particularly lambasting skipper Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Butt also accused the Pakistan players of running PR campaigns on social media.

In a video that went viral on X, Butt ridicules the ‘King’ moniker attached to Babar Azam.

“The self-proclamation that one man (Babar Azam) is the ‘King’, the other (Shaheen Afridi) is the best bowler in the world; one is compared to Virat Kohli, the other is compared to Jasprit Bumrah, but can they win matches on their own?” questioned Butt.

“Yes, they’ve touched the top of the ICC rankings at one point, but it’s time to touch reality now,” said a fuming Butt.

Butt said that any sort of narrative can be spread on social media, and hinted that the Pakistan team does so.

“The worst thing of social media nowadays it that you can run anything with a paid campaign,” said Butt. “It is necessary for the intelligent and important people in Pakistan cricket to stay away from such activities,” he said further.

“First win a match, a big tournament, fight it out to win against a big team, finish a match single-handedly, then think what you want to proclaim,” added Butt.

Pakistan now stand on the brink of a group stage elimination from the 2024 T20 World Cup. The men in green were first shocked by hosts USA, and then defeated for the sixth time in T20 World Cups by India, drawing in criticism from several former Pakistan cricketers, including Butt and Wasim Akram.

Despite beating Canada, Pakistan’s fortunes in the tournament are no longer in their hands.