Shadab Khan opens up about Babar, Sharjah press conference controversy

All-rounder, Shadab Khan, in a recent interview to a local news channel, has hailed Babar Azam as a valuable asset for the Pakistan team. He also drew a comparison to Virat Kohli and stated that Pakistan's skipper is now eyeing surpassing Kohli's records.

"Babar has delivered remarkable performances for Pakistan, especially the way he plays in the ODI format, which also suits him. He is gradually breaking and surpassing all the records that Virat Kohli made," Shadab said.

In the era of social media, where information is readily accessible, Shadab also acknowledged that criticism is inevitable, especially for prominent players.

"There's no space for friendships in Pakistan team. If that was the case, then wouldn't Babar have preferred his brothers to play in the team? We are living in the social media era, and nothing can stay hidden in today's world," he added.

"I didn't know earlier that the bigger the player you are, the more criticism you will face. My answer about Babar and Rizwan in the press conference during the series against Afghanistan was also misinterpreted," Shadab said..

Shadab, who was the captain of the Pakistan team in the T20I series against Afghanistan earlier this, while backing Babar and Rizwan had said, “Now everyone would have understood the importance of Babar and Rizwan,” after losing the series.

Since his statement, there were talks of him being removed from the deputy role of white-ball cricket. However, according to media reports, Babar backed him and recommended PCB to retain Shadab as vice-captain in limited-overs format.