A day before the ODI series against New Zealand, an organised media campaign was witnessed on social media to remove Babar Azam from the captaincy.
In the pre-match press conference, some journalists tried to prove Babar Azam as a failed captain in their questions. However, social media users have given a strong response to Babar Azam’s critics. Hashtags #staysrongbabrazam and #istandstandwithbabar became top trends on Twitter.
In the press conference held before the ODI series yesterday, Shoaib Jatt, ARY News anchor and reporter, took out his long-standing grudge while questioning Babar Azam regarding Test statistics.
Question: Do you think you should step down from Test captaincy?
Babar Azam responds.#PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/e8n5dTMyRQ
— Grassroots Cricket (@grassrootscric) January 8, 2023
Captain Babar Azam gracefully replied to him if this presser is for ODIs then relevant questions should be asked by the journalist.
So it were the dogs of ARy i.e big dogie Mr Jutt, who started compaign against Babar Azam when he left Karachi kings before the draft.
This is how they made the story against him. #StayStrongBabarAzam pic.twitter.com/uicQQ8wP5J— Saifullah khan (@Saif_Speaks66) January 8, 2023
ARY News took the lead in the propaganda campaign against Babar Azam and kept spinning Babar Azam’s answer to the question about keeping Sarfaraz Ahmed on the bench for four years in the breaking news.
Sports journalist Aalia Rasheed commented, “A calculated move to dethrone Babar? Team Pakistan is in good spirits & no one should try to create friction among the team. Well in the presence of two top journalists in PCB, I hope juniors would learn how to conceal their intentions b4 throwing Qs!”
A calculated move to dethrone Babar? Team Pakistan is in good spirits & no one should try to create friction among the team. Well in the presence of two top journalists in PCB, I hope juniors would learn how to conceal their intentions b4 throwing Qs! https://t.co/jhNY5UpC2K
— Aalia Rasheed (@aaliaaaliya) January 8, 2023
After the cynical media campaign to remove Babar Azam from captaincy, his fans took to social media and expressed their full support for their captain, as a result of which #staystorngbabarazam is trending on Twitter after more than 12 consecutive hours.
Journalist Farid Khan expressed his surprise at the extraordinary support for Babar Azam. He tweeted, “12 HOURS! Unbelievable that #StayStrongBabarAzam is still trending on top in Pakistan, along with #IStandWithBabar. I haven’t seen a more powerful cricket trend in the country recently, this is crazy. Exactly seven hours to go now before the first ODI starts in Karachi. #PAKvNZ”
12 HOURS! Unbelievable that #StayStrongBabarAzam is still trending on top in Pakistan, along with #IStandWithBabar. I haven’t seen a more powerful cricket trend in the country recently, this is crazy. Exactly seven hours to go now before the first ODI starts in Karachi. #PAKvNZ
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) January 9, 2023
He added, “Pakistan are looking for three different captains in three formats. Babar Azam set to remain T20I captain, while Sarfaraz Ahmed could lead the Test side. Shan Masood strong candidate to lead in ODIs as approved by Mickey Arthur, as reported by Express News. #PAKvNZ”
Pakistan are looking for three different captains in three formats. Babar Azam set to remain T20I captain, while Sarfaraz Ahmed could lead the Test side. Shan Masood strong candidate to lead in ODIs as approved by Mickey Arthur, as reported by Express News. #PAKvNZ
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) January 9, 2023