Shoaib Akhtar slams current Pakistani skipper Babar Azam for his communication skills in his recent interview. Akhtar said that Babar Azam cannot become the biggest brand because he is not immaculate in his communication and does not speak fluently.
He added that current cricketer needs to be media savvy in order to promote their brand image. “Cricket is one job and handling media is another job. If you can’t speak, I am sorry but you won’t be able to express yourself on the TV,” Akhtar said.
“I want to openly say this that Babar Azam should be the biggest brand in Pakistan, but why he hasn’t become the biggest brand in Pakistan? Because he can’t speak,” he added.
He said it is because of this reason that former cricketers are preferred by brands as compared to current cricketers for advertisements.
“Is there any other cricketer who can speak well? Why do only me, Shahid Afridi, and Wasim Akram get all the advertisements? The reason is that we take it as a job.
Back in 2020, Babar Azam was asked about his English language speaking skills to which he said he is working on them.
“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 said.
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
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Shoaib Akhtar received flak on social media as internet users considered his statements against Babar Azam humiliating and disrespectful.
In the recent ARY show, Akhtar said that he did not mean bad towards Babar Azam as he said these things personally to Babar Azam as well. The former cricketer said that he urged Babar Azam to work on his grooming to increase his net worth and value. He should be at par with India’s Virat Kohli in every aspect.