Social media was filled with rumors about Babar Azam supposedly retiring from Test cricket after Pakistan’s 2-0 series loss to Bangladesh. The speculation started from viral posts that claimed to be from Babar, announcing his exit from the Test format. However, these claims have been proven false.
The talented batsman has faced intense scrutiny for his performance in the series, becoming the target of several misleading posts online. One such post falsely claimed that Babar, Pakistan’s white-ball captain, had retired from Test cricket, while another criticized his technique and statistics after he was removed from the Test captaincy.
After looking into the matter, it was found that these posts came from parody accounts on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Babar’s official accounts on X and Instagram did not contain any announcements about his retirement.
The first fake retirement post appeared on an X account named “Jay Shah (parody),” falsely claiming Babar Azam’s retirement. Another misleading post from an account titled “Babar Azam – Parody” continued to spread the false story, making it clear that these statements were not from Babar himself.
Babar’s recent difficulties in Test cricket have been clear, as he scored only 64 runs across four innings in the series against Bangladesh, averaging 16. His performance included a duck in the first innings of the opening Test and scores of 22, 31, and 11 in the following innings. Throughout 2023, Babar has gathered just 317 runs in eight matches, with his highest score being 41. His last Test century was against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022.
