Ex-Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has claimed he has never criticised their current captain Babar Azam, adding that he's like his younger brother. Afridi added, "Babar takes time to build his innings. He should have a partner with a strike rate [of] above 135-140." Interestingly, Babar's opening partner for Pakistan is Muhammad Rizwan, who was leading run-getter in the PSL 2023.