Azam Khan criticises toxic fan behaviour, calls Babar Azam’s fan base ‘toxic’

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan has criticised the toxic behaviour of cricket fans on social media, particularly those who target players for expressing constructive criticism, describing the fan base of Babar Azam as toxic.

Speaking about consistency in the Pakistan team, Azam acknowledged Babar’s performances between 2019 and 2023, saying the former Pakistan captain had been remarkably consistent during that period.

However, Azam raised concerns over the behaviour of certain fans, sharing an unpleasant experience from his time batting alongside Babar in Ireland.

He revealed that while he was batting with Babar, who was around 75 runs, and Pakistan needed approximately 40 more runs, he received an abusive comment on Instagram. The commenter allegedly threatened that his mother would die and his father would develop cancer if he prevented Babar from scoring a century.

Describing the incident, Azam said Pakistan’s cricketers had an ignorant fan base and that such behaviour had become a serious problem on social media.

“There is obviously nothing wrong with Babar and his game, but his fan base is very toxic,” Azam said.

He further explained that cricket journalists and analysts also face similar hostility whenever they offer constructive criticism, with their social media comments and direct messages often flooded with abusive responses.

Azam also referred to an incident involving South African cricketer Wiaan Mulder, whose Instagram comment section was reportedly flooded with comments praising Babar Azam.

He added that players had endured a difficult couple of years and questioned the unnecessary hostility directed towards them, highlighting the negative impact of toxic fan behaviour on Pakistan cricket.