‘Khelte kam, bolte zyada’, Younis Khan slams Babar Azam and appreciates Virat Kohli for THIS reason

New Delhi: Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has let rip at batting star Babar Azam and others for putting personal interests ahead of national cause. Babar has come under severe fire for his batting and captaincy of late. He has failed to score a half-century in his last 16 Test innings, with his batting drawing sharp criticism from former players. You can make a long list of how players went over the top with their criticism, especially against Babar and other high-profile players. And the latest on this list is Younis, who referred to the failure of the team to win in the last one or two years, besides accusing Babar and other top players of speaking more than they act.

“If Babar and other top players deliver on the field, then results will be clear to everyone. Humare players khelte kam, bolte zyada hai. (I have observed that our players tend to talk more than they perform),” Younis told Cricket Pakistan at an event.

Younis Khan also urged Babar Azam to take a lesson from Virat Kohli, noting how the Indian star stepped down from captaincy to concentrate on improving his batting performance.

“Look at Virat Kohli. He chose to step down from captaincy on his own terms, and now he’s breaking records worldwide. This shows that playing for the country should be the priority. If there’s any energy left, then play for yourself,” Younis suggested.

“The only suggestion I have for Babar is that he should focus on his cricket. He should up his performance. Babar Azam was made the captain because he was the best player at the time. I was there when the decision was made that the team’s best player should be the captain.

“Your focus should be on cricket. You have to perform everywhere because there are very high expectations. Players should focus more on cricket and use social media wisely, but their real answers should come through their performances with the bat and ball. He (Babar) needs to focus on his fitness and work ethic because opportunities like these don’t come around often,” he added.

Pakistan’s national head coaches for both white-ball and red-ball formats, Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie, have counselled their cricket board against making impulsive captaincy decisions in light of poor recent shows. Babar Azam was given the white-ball captaincy axe after Pakistan made a miserable exit from the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, and even Shaheen Shah Afridi was replaced promptly after one poor series with the red ball. Similarly, in Tests, Shan Masood was promoted to captain after the resignation of Babar Azam, but after losing 0-2 against Bangladesh, there are already calls for his dismissal.

A PCB source however told PTI that recent media speculations about Masood and Babar’s sacking is nothing more than kite flying.

“There has been no discussion on changing the captains as the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has left it up to the two coaches and selectors to decide on the captaincy,” he said.