Woakes Addresses ‘King Babar’ Comment Controversy

England’s Chris Woakes has explained that his comment ‘king Babar’ on Wiaan Mulder’s social media was intended as a lighthearted joke and not as mockery toward Babar Azam, the former captain of Pakistan’s cricket team.

In a recent YouTube podcast with teammate Moeen Ali, Woakes discussed the social media comment that had circulated widely. The conversation began when the host inquired about the story of him calling Wiaan Mulder ‘King Babar.’

Woakes stated that his friendship with Mulder developed while they both participated in South Africa’s T20 league. He then told the story of how the nickname came about.

“I was teammates with Wiaan in the South African league, and during the Test matches in Pakistan, there was some banter between him and Babar Azam,” Woakes recalled.

“Following that, Pakistani supporters responded emotionally and began calling Mulder ‘King Babar’ in the comments on his social media posts.

Misunderstanding Among Fans

“When I posted ‘King Babar’ on Wiaan’s Instagram, it was all meant to be fun. It was something we joked about in the dressing room too. However, fans misinterpreted it.”

Woakes made it clear that he had no desire to make fun of Babar Azam.

“I didn’t have any bad intentions toward Babar. The comment was supposed to be a joke, but fans saw it as a jab at their captain. They even started directing comments at me, mockingly calling me ‘King Babar,’” he stated.

The English bowler emphasized that it was simply friendly banter and was never intended to show disrespect.

“I fully appreciate the fans’ enthusiasm, but the entire episode was just a simple misunderstanding,” he concluded.