Ramiz Raja urges Babar Azam to stay off social media amid criticism

Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja has advised Babar Azam to stay off social media after his disappointing performance in the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. 

Babar struggled in the match, scoring no runs in the first innings and only 22 in the second. Pakistan suffered a heavy defeat, losing by 10 wickets.

Babar's recent form in Test cricket has been a concern, with just 275 runs at an average of 21.15 in his last seven matches. Pakistan's ongoing struggles in Test cricket have also frustrated fans and former players, leading to heavy criticism of Babar on social media.

Speaking on his YouTuve channel, Raja pointed out that whenever the team loses, the focus often falls on Babar, especially when he doesn’t perform well. Raja highlighted the impact of social media, where everyone has the ability to criticize and ridicule players, something he believes should be discouraged.

“It seems the entire nation does not have a problem with anything except the form of Babar Azam. Unfortunately what happens is when you lose a match and you have not scored runs and if you are Babar Azam, then you become a headline - How did we lose? What did he do? What was his contribution? And then this is the era of social media. Anybody can criticize and ridicule anyone, this should be discouraged as much as possible,” Raja said.

Raja also expressed concern about Pakistan's declining performance in international cricket.

“Cricket is in our blood but don't know for how long if we continue to lose matches like this in Test cricket. Fan following increases with wins and fans identify themselves with success stories. Babar Azam has had a famous success story. There is no doubt that he has been a big player in all three formats,” he concluded.