Lahore, May 30, 2025: A simmering family controversy within Pakistan cricket burst into the open this week as Azam Siddique, father of former captain Babar Azam, issued a pointed and emotional response to Kamran Akmal’s public call to sideline Babar from limited-overs cricket.
The former wicketkeeper-batter, who is also Babar’s cousin, recently stirred controversy during a podcast where he asserted that Babar and Mohammad Rizwan should now be restricted to Test cricket, stating that their time in the T20I format was over. “In my opinion, they should now be kept only for Test matches… and after six months, maybe even phased out of ODIs,” Akmal said, arguing that red-ball cricket develops “real players.”
Akmal also criticized the trend of family members speaking publicly about cricketers’ careers, saying: “I went through tough phases too, but I told my father and brothers to stay silent. It’s not right to speak against the system.”
Azam Siddique fired back in a strongly-worded Instagram post, sharing an old photograph of himself with Babar and Kamran. Without naming Akmal directly, he reminded him of a past match under Babar’s captaincy. “This child never played under your captaincy, but you did under his—and while you were dismissed for zero, he went on to score a century,” Siddique wrote.
He further added, “Talking behind the backs of successful people is the compulsion of those who have failed.” In a cryptic remark referencing the Quranic story of Habil and Qabil (Abel and Cain), he questioned whether Kamran’s proclaimed brotherhood was genuine or tainted by rivalry.
The social media exchange has laid bare growing tensions within the cricketing family. What might have once been considered private disagreement has now spilled into the public domain, exposing the strained ties between one of Pakistan’s most prominent cricketing clans.
Babar Azam, 30, has been out of Pakistan’s T20I squad since December 2023 amid a form slump and shifting selection policies. Despite captaining Pakistan in three ICC T20 World Cups (2021, 2022, and 2024) and scoring over 4,200 runs in T20Is at an average near 40, he has not played a T20I since the New Zealand series in March and has been overlooked again for the ongoing series against Bangladesh.
Earlier this year, selectors also removed Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I captaincy after just two series, handing leadership to Agha Salman as part of a broader shift toward younger players ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
The debate over Babar’s role in Pakistan’s future squads has intensified, but what’s now equally under scrutiny is the public spat between family members with deep roots in the game. As Kamran Akmal continues to assert his views through media platforms and Azam Siddique defends his son online, the controversy underscores how personal relationships and professional opinions can clash explosively in the public eye.
