Babar Azam tells critics to ‘avoid personal attacks’

Pakistan skipper and star batter Babar Azam has urged critics to avoid personal attacks after former pacer Aaqib Javed criticised the right-hander’s strike-rate in a recent interview.

Azam added that he doesn’t give much attention to people’s opinions about him.

“He [Aaqib] may feel that way, it’s fine. Everyone has their own point of view. Let’s keep the focus on Pakistan cricket team right now. People have their opinions. We don’t pay heed to these. You can speak on these but as a sportsperson you have gone through such phases, know how tough it is, the pressure and responsibility involved then don’t make any personal attacks. Discuss all you want to. We aren’t bothered by these [opinions],” said Azam in a press conference on Monday.

Azam, who went through a lean patch in the recently-concluded Asia Cup is also keen on regaining form during the seven-match T20I series against England, which starts today.

“I hope to return to my best in this series… and it will be good if it happens before the World Cup,” he said.

“I think less about failures when going through a bad patch,” said Azam. “As a batter, your focus is to do your best to regain your form and it would be great to do that before the World Cup,” he added.