Parthiv Patel Labels Pakistan Skipper Babar Azam ‘A Selfish Player’

Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel called Pakistan skipper Babar Azam ‘selfish’ during an interview. Speaking on an episode of the YouTube show Cyrus Says, Parthiv stated that Babar’s decision to open at the T20 World Cup impacted Fakhar Zaman’s performances.

He said, “Captain wanted to open, so he had to come down. If the captain is a selfish player, there’s no chance.”

A clip of Parthiv’s jibe at the Pakistan skipper was shared on X (formerly Twitter). “Parthiv Patel making fun of Babar Azam, he is hitting below the belt,” read the post.

Patel’s bold words sparked plenty of reactions with many claiming the ex-wicketkeeper was just stating facts. One social media user wrote, “Since when stating facts is called as hitting below the belt?”

One more agreed and wrote, “I can’t even disagree. Everything he said is spot on.”

Another questioned Babar’s performance against India at the tournament and wrote, “He’s saying the truth. What did Babar Azam do against India? Apart from one good performance?”

“He is just stating facts. If telling the truth is disrespected then…” wrote one more.

“True. It is what it is! Babar Azam needs to improve himself,” read a response.

Patel justified his statement on Babar by saying this topic had already been discussed amongst Pakistan legends and they had the same thing to say. “There’s nothing new about this. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, everyone says this,” the ex-wicketkeeper said.

Patel’s critical response led podcast host Cyrus Broacha to ask about who should be Pakistan’s skipper in place of Babar. Parthiv explained that Pakistan’s captaincy problems were mainly a result of not having a player who would consistently feature across all formats of the sport. “The problem is, there is not a single player who actually can fit into playing XI all the games, except Rizwan,” Parthiv explained. He also claimed that Babar wasn’t an ideal fit in T20I cricket. “Babar Azam, he’s not a T20 player”, Parthiv pointed out.

Pakistan had a shambolic performance at the T20 World Cup 2024. Pakistan faced an early exit from the tournament after conceding early losses to co-hosts USA and arch-rivals India. They won their next two group games against Canada and Ireland but it just was not enough to seal a spot at the Super Eight stage.