Babar Azam makes it clear to Somerset he will not wear any alcohol brand's logo

Pakistani limited-overs skipper Babar Azam has told his English county, Somerset that he would not display the logo of any alcohol beverage company on his shirt during the ongoing T20 Blast event in England. Azam, who joined Somerset after Pakistan’s tour ended on Tuesday, was seen wearing a shirt that had the logo of an alcohol company on his back. Not surprisingly, it led to some backlash on social media but a source close to the Pakistan captain confirmed he had made it clear in his contract with Somerset he would not promote any alcohol company logo.

“Apparently the logo was on the back of Babar’s shirt by mistake and the county has assured him it will be removed for the next match,” the source said.

In the past, Muslim players representing other teams including England, South Africa, and Australia have refused to wear kits displaying the logo of any alcohol beverages company despite having to suffer big losses in earnings from their respective cricket boards. Hashim Amla and Imran Tahir in South Africa, Moeen Ali, and Adil Rashid in England are a few examples.

Babar Azam retains top spot in T20I rankings, leapfrogs to fifth in Test rankings

Coming back to international cricket, Babar Azam is indeed turning out to be an impactful player in world cricket. He has won praises from all corners of the world for his elegant batting as well as delightful cover-drives and now it can be said that he is at the peak of his cricketing career. The batting sensation is in the list of top-five batsmen across formats. He has been the top-ranked T20I batsman from early 2018, jumped to the fifth spot in the Test rankings and, occupies the third spot in the 50-overs format.

In the recently concluded T20I series, Babar became the joint-fastest batsman along with the likes of Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Australian limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch to register 1500 runs in the shortest format (39 innings). The T20I specialist had scored a 44-ball 56 in the second T20I but was castled for 21 in the final match where Pakistan registered a close five-run win to not only level the series 1-1 but also managing a consolation win.

After the recent T20I series in England, Babar Azam, who scored 56 and 21 in the two T20s retained his 'Numero Uno' spot in the ICC T20I rankings despite a 10-point drop. Indian makeshift wicket-keeper-batsman KL Rahul trails in second place by just 45 points.

(With PTI Inputs)

(Image Courtesy: Babar Azam Twitter)