PSL 2024: WATCH - Babar Azam loses cool after crowd trolls Peshawar Zalmi skipper with 'ZimBabar' chants

Babar stared at the crowd and even came close to throwing a bottle of water.

Babar Azam | ScreengrabThe last six months have been quite tough for Babar Azam. Under his captaincy, Pakistan failed to qualify for the Asia Cup 2023 final and then faced a first-round exit from the 50-over World Cup.

After the World Cup debacle, Babar stepped down as Pakistan captain across all formats. Despite leaving the captaincy, the right-hander struggled for runs during the Test tour of Australia.

However, Babar Azam returned to form in the T20I tour of New Zealand, scoring three half-centuries from five matches.

Babar is currently plying his trade in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL). He is leading the Peshawar Zalmi side and has hit two half-centuries in three innings so far.

In the match against Multan Sultans on Friday (February 23), Babar scored 31. A video from the same game also emerged on social media, in which a group of fans can be heard jeering at Babar Azam.

The fans can be heard referring to Babar as 'ZimBabar'. After some time, the Zalmi skipper stared back at them and also came close to throwing a bottle of water.

While we can’t verify the authenticity of the video, some fans claimed that the 'ZimBabar' chant was edited.

Recently, former Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez alleged that ex-captain, Babar Azam and foreign coaches Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn had given team fitness lowest priority heading into the World Cup in India.

The Men in Green had lost five out of the nine league matches and finished fifth on the points table.

"When I took over as director (in 2023) and we reached Australia, I told the team trainer to give me a report on the players' fitness standards and prepare a new fitness regimen," said Hafeez on ARY Sports channel.

"He told me that the former captain (Babar) and head coach (Arthur) had told him six months ago that fitness is not the priority at the moment and let the players play as they wanted.

"This was shocking news for me when he (team trainer) told me that he was told to not check the players fitness," he added.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 24 Feb, 2024

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