"Although Virat Was There...": Imam-ul-Haq Claims Sri Lankan Fans Are "Crazy About Babar Azam"

Pakistan batsman Imam-ul-Haq has claimed Babar Azam has a huge fan following among Sri Lankan fans. He stated that he was stunned by the reaction of the local Sri Lankan fans when he visited the country with his Pakistan teammates for the Asia Cup in September.

Pakistan visited the Island nation to take on arch-rivals India in the group-stage clash in Pallekele. From India, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Jasprit Bumrah were in the country for the tournament. However, Imam-ul-Haq said that none of the Indian players including Virat Kohli, who is arguably the most popular cricketer in the world at present, received support from the local fans like Babar Azam did.

“The fan base that I haven’t seen for him in Pakistan, it is there in Sri Lanka. They were crazy about him. I haven’t seen this level of enthusiasm before. Although Virat was there, it was a Pakistan-India match, and Virat was in the adjacent dressing room. The Sri Lankan locals were were crazy about Babar. Seeing that made me very happy,” Imam-ul-Haq said on a podcast.

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Imamulhaq – "Babar Azam has unreal fanbase, specially in Sirilanka where the people where crazy about him.
Even Virat kohli was there but still people cheered for Babar more than kohli".

– My King has unreal stardom ??#BabarAzam? | #Viratkohli pic.twitter.com/rUGdidRWVn

— JIMMRZ (@Jimmrz_) December 1, 2023

Babar Azam, however, failed to inspire Pakistan to a win in the Asia Cup. Pakistan crashed out of the tournament at the Super 4 stage while India went on to win the tournament. In the final, India inflicted a humiliating 10-wicket defeat on Sri Lanka after bowling them out for 50 runs.

Babar Azam eyes redemption:

Babar Azam will be looking to bounce back in the upcoming tour of Australia after a tough couple of months or so. The Pakistan star recently stepped down as the captain in all three formats after his team’s poor performance in the Asia Cup and the World Cup. Pakistan failed to advance to the semifinal of the World Cup after managing just 4 wins in 9 league games.

He had faced severe criticism for his captaincy as well as his batting during the competition. The right-handed batsman will be desperate to prove his critics wrong by doing well in the upcoming three-match Test series against Australia.