Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan has criticised the behaviour of Babar Azam’s supporters, describing the former captain’s fanbase as “toxic and uneducated” after recalling the abuse he received on social media.
Speaking on the ‘Backward Point Cricket Podcast’, Azam said the hostility came after he batted alongside Babar in an international match in Ireland. Babar was approaching a century, with Pakistan needing 40 runs, when a supporter posted an abusive message on Azam’s Instagram.
“One of Babar’s fans, I was batting with him (Babar) in Ireland, he was at 75 or something. We needed 40 runs. Somebody commented on my Instagram picture that if you stop Babar’s century, ‘Your mom will die and your dad will get cancer.’ Something like that,” Azam recalled.
He went on to criticise the wider culture among Pakistan cricket supporters, insisting his comments were not directed at Babar’s ability.
“Our cricketers have uneducated fanbases. There’s nothing wrong with Babar and his game. But his fanbase is very toxic. When you see those things, why would you even say that,” he added.
Azam and Babar were also part of Pakistan’s squad at the 2024 T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean. Azam featured in the group-stage match against the USA, which Pakistan lost in a Super Over.
While Azam acknowledged Babar’s consistency between 2019 and 2021, his latest remarks highlight the pressure and online abuse players can face from supporters. His criticism was aimed at the conduct of fans, not Babar’s performances.
Apart from Babar’s fanbase, Azam has also received hate from other fans over his performances. The 28-year-old, however, said new criticism no longer bothers him.
Babar, meanwhile, has struggled for form in recent months. In the ODI tri-series against England and Sri Lanka, he made 118 runs in five matches at an average of 23.60 and a strike rate of 74.21, without a half-century. His scores were 45, 34, 10, 29 and a duck in the final against Sri Lanka.
He has scored just one ODI century since his 151 against Nepal in September 2023. That hundred came against Sri Lanka in November 2025 and was his 20th in the format, after a wait of more than two years. He then scored a half-century against Australia in Rawalpindi in May 2026 but has not passed 50 in ODIs since.
His last Test century was 161 against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022. In this year’s Test series against England, he made 97 runs in four innings, with scores of 76, 8, 6 and 7. He then turned to domestic cricket to find form, scoring 58 runs in four first-class innings.
