Stop bringing your heroes down: Artists rally behind Babar Azam after personal chat aired live

The controversy erupted when a leaked WhatsApp chat attributed to the national cricket team captain was made public

As fans of the Pakistani men’s cricket team manage their expectations for a big win, the recent controversial leak of captain Babar Azam’s personal messages with PCB Chief Operating Officer, Salman Naseer, on live television has sent the cricket world into a fresh wave of frenzy.

The chat was revealed after PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf categorically denied claims that the captain had made any direct attempts to contact him and reportedly disclosed a private WhatsApp conversation between Babar and Salman to substantiate his statement.

Amid voicing disapproval of such blatant disregard of privacy of the national cricket team captain are Pakistani celebrities who have been enthusiastically following the World Cup, cheering on green shirts despite tumultuous performance. Actor Fahad Mustafa took to his Instagram account to sneakily hint at the recent scandal, saying, “Never trust a person who shares screenshots, period.”

Fahad’s longstanding cinematic collaborator, Nabeel Qureshi also sided with Babar against attempts to discredit the acclaimed batsman. resharing a post on X, that read, “How can you even give filth like Shoaib Jatt a platform [to] leak conversions and malign Babar Azam? You may not be his fan but the Pakistan cricket board, channels, and analysts have lost their minds and all sense! In what world is it justified to treat one of your top athletes this way?”

How can you even give filth like Shoaib Jatt a platform, leak conversions, malign Babar Azam?! You may not be his fan but the Pakistan cricket board, channels, analysts have lost their minds & all sense! In what world is it justified to treat one of your top athletes this way?!

— Hadeel Obaid (@hadouken51) October 30, 2023

Actor Ahmed Ali Butt also pitched in humorously, putting up an Instagram Story of a collecting jar with a plaque saying ‘Tip Wars’ above pictures of Babar and Zaka. Butt has been avidly keeping up with the cricket season, often putting his two cents in on social media.

Jalan star Fahad Sheikh openly expressed support for Babar on his Instagram account. “Stop bringing down your heroes,” he wrote in the overlaying text, “A coward rejoices when a hero falls and we as a nation, love seeing heroes fall. Sad. Standing with Babar Azam.”

It's unclear whether Babar consented to share his personal message on live TV, raising ethical questions about the PCB chief's actions, as leaking private messages might be seen as a breach of privacy.

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