"Respect wahi deta hain jiski aapni hoti hain" - Salman Butt slams Sikander Bakht over Babar Azam comments

Former Pakistani captain Salman Butt has extended support to Babar Azam following the latter's resignation as the team's white-ball captain. He took a dig at ex-Pakistani pacer Sikander Bakht for his comments on the star batter.

After Babar relinquished his leadership position, Bakht suggested that he should have stepped down the day Pakistan suffered a group-stage exit at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Reckoning that Babar finally felt ashamed of his performance as captain, the 67-year-old told Geo News (via Times Now):

"Ab sharam ayi! (You finally felt ashamed!) As soon as our World Cup was over on 16th June because we had not qualified further, he should have resigned at the same time. The whole nation was saying that he should have resigned. But he was stubborn. Because his style was like this, he was king. His performance was not good, neither was theirs. Anyway, they should have seen that we are removed in two ways. I don't know what happened to him."

Butt was seemingly unimpressed by Bakht's choice of words. He stated that one shouldn't make such comments about Babar, who has been Pakistan's top performer in recent years. Reacting to Bakht's remarks, here's what Butt said during a TV show:

"Dekhiye respect wahi deta hain jiski aapni hoti hain. This is very very unfortunate. You’re criticising the player who has been the best player for Pakistan in the last five years. No player was consistent before him and among the current crop of cricketers, also there hasn’t been any other with such consistency. You can like or dislike any person but you should consider the player’s stature while criticising. I will not say much."

It is worth mentioning that Babar Azam had earlier resigned as Pakistan's captain across formats after the team's underwhelming performance at the 2023 ODI World Cup. However, he was reinstated as the white-ball captain ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

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"He understood late but rightly in the end" - Rashid Latif on Babar Azam's resignation

Former Pakistani wicketkeeper Rashid Latif believes that Babar Azam made the right decision to step down as the team's white-ball captain. Babar was subjected to heavy criticism after the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Pakistan suffered losses to the United States of America and India, resulting in an embarrassing exit. Latif opined that with the pressure of captaincy off his shoulders, Babar will bounce back soon.

In a video shared by Latif on his X account, he said:

"He (Babar) understood late but rightly in the end. Mohammad Amir, Azam (Khan) and Imad Wasim have always kept you on your toes, played the World Cup (T20) as they wanted to. Now they are gone. Now Babar's time will come as the pressure of captaincy is off."

Babar Azam will be seen in action in Pakistan's upcoming three-match home Test series against England. The first Test is set to be played in Multan from Monday, October 7.