Former England captain Michael Vaughan on Tuesday came out in support of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam after the Men in Green's thumping win over Bangladesh in the ICC World Cup 2023.
Babar has been under fire over his poor show with the bat and Pakistan's four successive defeats in this World Cup which has left them on the brink of elimination from the semi-finals race.
Pakistan stay alive in CWC 2023
But Babar & Co. have managed to keep their campaign alive by knocking out Bangladesh and returning to winning ways after their 7-wicket triumph at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
"No surprise to me that Pakistan produce a quality display with all the nonsense surrounding the team .. Delighted for the skipper @babarazam258 as he is being treated with no respect by the powers that be .. Pakistan are back at the races," Vaughan tweeted on X, formerly Twitter.
Vaughan turns his guns towards PCB
Vaughan had earlier slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board after its chairman Zaka Ashraf allegedly leaked Babar's WhatsApp chats with PCB COO Salman Naseer amid the ongoing fued between the board and the players regarding their central contracts.
The Pakistani players have not received their salaries for the past five months and are yet to sign the controversial contracts due to a pay dispute.
Babar's poor run-of-form not helping his cause
This combined with Babar's flop-show with the bat in the World Cup has led to a huge furore in the Pakistan cricket fraternity.
"I just don't like the lack of respect that Babar Azam is being shown. It's a disgrace that these stories are being leaked—the stories that Shaheen Afridi is going to be the captain.
"Babar Azam is a wonderful player, world-class, and fantastic for Pakistan and for the world game. When you see these kind of stories about captains during a World Cup, (I'd say) leave it till the end," Vaughan told Cricbuzz.
Vaughan urges PCB to show some respect
Vaughan also urged the PCB to show respect to Babar and maybe, hand over the captaincy to someone else after Pakistan's campaign in the World Cup but not trigger such controversies during such an important tournament.
"If, at the end of the World Cup, you think that he is not the right person to take Pakistan forward as a captain, no problem; you are allowed to make that decision. But during a World Cup, and when the gossip is coming from your board, I find that really disrespectful," Vaughan added.
