Salman Butt Slams Shoaib Akhtar for Criticizing Babar Azam Continuously

Pakistan’s former captain Salman Butt has called out Shoaib Akhtar for his captious statements regarding Babar Azam following his poor showing in the 2025 Champions Trophy. The former pacer had earlier called Babar a “fraud” due to his recent slump in form and slammed the former captain for failing to carry the team.

Akhtar, known for his no-holds-barred opinions, had suggested that Babar’s current batting struggles were not just a temporary dip but a sign of a deeper flaw in his technique. “We often hear comparisons between Babar Azam and Virat Kohli. But who is Kohli’s hero? It’s Sachin Tendulkar, a man with 100 international centuries. Kohli is chasing that legacy,” Akhtar said. “Who is Babar Azam’s role model? Let’s not name any cricketer, but you’ve chosen the wrong role models. Your thought process is wrong. You were a fraud from the beginning,” he added.

Salman Butt, who once shared the cricketing field with Shoaib Akhtar, hit back at Akhtar’s remarks, emphasizing that a player’s career should not be judged on a temporary rough patch. Speaking on a local TV channel, Butt defended Babar, stating that despite his slump, Babar remains the best player in the team.

“Shoaib is one of the best talents Pakistan ever produced, and if he reconsiders, he would call that a heat of the moment, but he shouldn’t have said that,” Salman Butt said while addressing Shoaib Akhtar. “Babar is struggling with form, and more than his technical issues, we have gotten into his head. His talent is superior to that of every other batsman we have, and we have even wasted it because of all this criticism. He is not Kohli, he is not Root, and he is not Williamson, but he is the best we have,” Salman said, addressing Babar’s slump.

This is not the first time Babar has had to bear the brunt of the criticism following the Pakistan cricket team’s failures. Despite the struggles of the entire setup, Babar has often been singled out by former cricketers and pundits alike, adding to his troubles. Ironically, it has been legends from across the border who have come to the batter’s aid during this period to quieten the carping cricketers. Babar may not be able to satiate his home nation’s pundits, but the sooner he finds his form, the better it will be for his team in the international arena.