“Babar’s friendship caused me more harm,” Pakistani star makes STAGGERING comments about Babar Azam

Qadir said he was selected to represent his country by displaying his skills and not because he is friends with Babar.

“Babar’s friendship caused me more harm,” Pakistani star makes STAGGERING comments about Babar Azam

Usman Qadir, Babar Azam (Image via CricketAddictor)

Pakistani star Usman Qadir made an interesting comment about his friendship with Pakistani skipper Babar Azam. Qadir says his being a close friend of Babar has made people accuse the skipper of favoritism. Qadir said he was selected to represent his country by displaying his skills and not because he is friends with Babar.

The 30-year-old shed some light on his friendship with Babar. He has known Babar since the under-15 days. Qadir, the son of the legendary Abdul Qadir, revealed that it was Misbah-ul-Haq who gave him a chance to feature in the squad for Pakistan and not Babar though he came to the team when Babar became the captain. 

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“Babar’s friendship caused me more harm than benefit. I faced the pressure of whether I would perform. People talk about friendships. Imam is closer to Babar than me, but Imam is performing. Still, people criticized him and call him names,” Usman said during an interview with Cricket Pakistan. He added that the national team is not Babar’s team but Pakistan’s team so the skipper won’t take him in just because of favoritism. 

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Usman Qadir last played an international match in 2022

"Babar's friendship caused me more harm," Pakistani star makes STAGGERING comments about Babar Azam
Babar Azam, Usman Qadir (Image via ESPNCricinfo)

In September 2022, Usman Qadir played his last international game, a T20I against England. He was even added to the squad for the T20 World Cup last year but as he needed more time to recover from injury, he was added to the reserves list. 

The Lahore-born was once considered a promising star when he made his debut for Pakistan in 2020 in a T20I against Zimbabwe. After his debut, he went on to feature in 23 T20I matches and bagged 29 wickets at an economy rate of 8.13. He made his ODI debut against South Africa, and it was his only match in the 50-over format.

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