‘Respect element shouldn't be missing’ - Veteran PAK cricketer speaks up on Babar-Amir face-off during PSL match

Babar Azam-Mohammad Amir (Source: Twitter)

Shoaib Malik, who is playing for Karachi Kings in the ongoing season of the Pakistan Super League, has a take on the face-off between his teammate Mohammad Amir and Babar Azam during the second league match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi. Peshawar skipper hit Amir for a boundary in the second last ball of the sixth over. After that, the Karachi pacer bowled a dot ball and threw the ball in anger after collecting it.

In a press conference held after the match, Shoaib Malik answered questions related to the heated moment between both players. The 41-year-old said that players should be respecting each other. "The respect element shouldn't be missing. I've seen Amir, Imad, Babar... whenever they meet, they greet each other with respect," said Malik.

"In this room, you won't be compatible in the same way with everyone. Some would gel up well, you'd like some and you might not like some others. But that would only be on professional basis. I'm sure you all respect each other too.

"It's good for the league. Once you enter the league, you need to focus on what encourages you to deliver your best. But we know no one crosses the line," Malik added.

Talking about the match, Peshawar Zalmi defeated Karachi Kings in a high-scoring encounter. Powered by the 139-run partnership between Babar (68 off 46) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (92 off 50) for the third wicket, Peshawar posted a total of 199 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.

Chasing a total of 200 runs, skipper Imad Wasim almost won it for Karachi with a fighting knock of 80 not out off 47 balls and a 131-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Malik (52 off 34). But the hosts fell short of Peshawar’s total by just 2 runs.