PSL 2024: Fake video alleging Babar Azam reacting to 'Zimbabar' chants goes viral

Babar Azam had to encounter 'Zimbabar' chants during a Pakistan Super League (PSL) game between Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan on Friday, February 23. A video of star Pakistan batter reacting angrily to the crowd’s comments has bene going viral all over social media.

In the viral video, the former Pakistan captain was sitting on the sidelines along with the support staff of Peshawar Zalmi when a bunch of people behind him were trying to get under his skin with the ‘Zimbabar’ chants. This prompted Babar to turn his head around and give them a stern look. The Peshawar Zalmi captain, who looked quite irritated, even threatened to throw a water bottle at them. Eventually, better sense prevailed and Babar decided against doing so. However, upon further investigation, it was found that the chants from the crowd were edited.

For the unversed, the Zimbabar Chants surfaced in recent years after Babar failed to live up to his lofty standards in crucial matches for Pakistan. However, some fans feel that he rarely misses out on matches having little or no consequence.

Some of his best performances have come against Zimbabwe. In 18 matches against Zimbabwe in all formats of the game, Babar has scored 693 runs at an average of 57.75. There is an accusation against the talismanic batter that he needs Zimbabwe to get back among the runs.

However, Babar is still regarded as one of the finest batters in modern-day cricket and many even compare him with the legendary Virat Kohli.

Peshawar Zalmi win first match in PSL 2024

After losing their first two games, Peshawar managed to win open account their in PSL 2024, beating Multan Sultans by five runs in a thrilling contest. This was Multan's first loss in the tournament.

Peshawar put on a challenging target of 180 for the Sultans. Babar scored 31 off 26 balls, while Haseebullah Khan hit 37 off 18 deliveries. In reply, Mohammed Rizwan's men gave a good account of themselves courtesy of Dawid Malan's 52 off 25 balls. In the end, the equation came down to six required off two balls. Naveen-ul-Haq kept a cool head and picked up two wickets to bowl out the hosts for 174.