Babar Azam faced a barrage of boos from PSL franchise Multan Sultans’ fans during the ongoing ninth edition of the PSL, in a regrettable incident that occurred during the Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans game on Friday.
Despite the unsportsmanlike behaviour from the fans, the visitors managed to secure a victory by a narrow margin of 5 runs.
With this, Zalmi opened their account after losing the initial two games of the PSL.
Azam contributed 31 runs off 26 balls before being dismissed by leg-spinner Usama Mir.
In total, Azam has scored 171 runs in three matches, while Lahore Qalandars’ Sahibzada Farhan leads the scoring charts with 193 runs in four matches.
Dramatic footage captured Multan fans chanting derogatory remarks towards Babar Azam, causing visible frustration for the star player who was seated behind the boundary ropes with team staff.
The unruly fans shouted, “ZimBabar, ZimBabar”.
The footage also showed fuming Azam warning the unruly fans and even gesturing for them to come forward, displaying his displeasure with their behaviour.
Is it a phoney video?
Meanwhile, some fans are doubting the veracity of the footage.
The ‘ZimBabar’ shouts, according to Azam’s fans, were added into the new video from a different footage in an attempt to attract attention, making the video appear phoney.
Azam, the Zalmi skipper, recently achieved a significant milestone by becoming the fastest batter to score 10,000 runs in T20 cricket.
Since his debut in 2015, Babar Azam has consistently proven himself as a standout batsman for Pakistan.
However, his reputation has suffered due to underwhelming performances in crucial matches in the recent past.
In a total of 18 matches across all formats against Zimbabwe, Babar has accumulated an impressive 693 runs at an average of 57.75.
Particularly noteworthy is his exceptional average of 114.75 in One Day Internationals (ODIs) against Zimbabwe.
Despite his recent struggles, the fans believe that a series against Zimbabwe could provide Babar with the opportunity to regain his form and showcase his talent once again.
