Pakistan pacer Hassan Ali has once again called Babar Azam a ‘King’. This time Ali called Azam king of Pakistan’s batting lineup following criticism of his batting and captaincy as the Green shirts’ poor performance in the recent T20 World Cup 2024.

At the recent ICC cricketing extravaganza, Babar, the batter, failed as well as he managed a lowly 122 runs in 4 group-stage matches.

Hassan Ali, in a recent interview, defended the under-fire Babar Azam and hailed him as "the King of Pakistan".

"I have certainly noticed how much abuse I've been receiving since that day for saying 'king kar lega' (the king will do it). He is my king, he is the king of Pakistan cricket, and he will always remain so because of the kind of batsman he is. I know maybe people will abuse me again and speak ill of me. But he is the best batsman in Pakistan, and he has proved it.

I know he hasn’t won anything, and he should win as a captain. He should win trophies and series for Pakistan. But he is the best," Hassan told Cricket Pakistan.

Hasan also pointed out that the 'Fab Four', consisting of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, and Joe Root, became the 'Fab Five' with the emergence of Babar.

"He is the king of Pakistan’s batting lineup. He has performed everywhere, except in India where we went once last year and he didn’t score a hundred there (in the World Cup). You must have heard of the 'Fab Four', and now because of Babar Azam, it's the 'Fab Five'. Babar Azam is that fifth player. So Babar Azam has improved, and he is the best. I still stand by that statement," added Hassan.

Babar Azam’s captaincy in white-ball cricket in being reviewed by the PCB as part of their assessment of the Pakistan team.