Pakistan’s top-order batter and former skipper Babar Azam has come out in strong support of his teammate Mohammad Rizwan, who has been trolled online for his popular phrase “win or learn”.
Rizwan introduced the phrase to promote a positive outlook after defeat, but it has since turned into a meme with some mocking his English-speaking skills.
In a podcast on Peshawar Zalmi’s YouTube channel, Babar addressed the trolling campaign and criticised how people “misunderstood” Rizwan’s words. “Who did this? It was our own. It’s always our own who pull each other down,” he said.
Babar praised Rizwan’s strong mindset and said all the trolling over ‘win or learn’ had not affected him the slightest. “He is the kind of person who doesn’t care about what people say and doesn’t pay attention to it.”
“If he [Rizwan] said something and he said it from a different perspective, you can interpret and present it however you want,” he added.
“He is very strong… stronger than all of us and his faith is unshakable. Memes have zero effect on Rizwan. He says people have the right to express their opinions, and he’s not bothered by it,” Babar added.
The former skipper also reflected on how quickly public opinion changes, using Rizwan’s captaincy as an example. “A lot of people used to say ‘if Rizwan becomes captain, this will happen… that will happen’. Now they want him sacked. No one understands this better than I do.”
Babar also talked about the lack of awareness on mental health in Pakistan, especially when it comes to athletes. “In Pakistan, there is no concept of mental health… nothing is being done for it here while foreign players give mental health a lot of importance.”
“Here, if someone is falling, we just keep pushing them down and make memes out of them,” he continued.
Babar Azam is currently leading Peshawar Zalmi in the 10th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Zalmi have won 4 out of 8 matches and must win their remaining games to qualify for the top four.
