'Friendship With Babar Azam Caused Me More Harm Than Benefit': Pakistan Cricketer

Usman Qadir is son of Pakistan's legendary leg-spinner Abdul Qadir and was touted to be a superstar for the Men in Green.

Usman Qadir celebrates with Babar Azam during the 1st IT20 match between Pakistan and England at Karachi National Stadium on September 20, 2022.

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Pakistan's leg-spinner Usman Qadir, who was once a regular in Pakistan's T20I team, was sidelined from the national team in 2022 after a string of bad performances. With the rise of new talent and in-form players available, it has become almost impossible for Usman to make a comeback. For the unversed, Usman Qadir is son of Pakistan's legendary leg-spinner Abdul Qadir and was touted to be a superstar for the Men in Green. The 30-year-old made his debut in November 2020 and played his last international match for Pakistan in September 2022 against England in Karachi. Since then, he has been struggling to find his way back into the national team. So far in his international career, Usman has taken 29 wickets in 23 T20Is while just one wicket in a solitary ODI.

Usman shares a close friendship with Babar Azam as both have been playing together since under-15 days. However, this friendship has proved more harmful than beneficial for Usman, something which he admitted himself. Instead, he credited ex-Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq for giving him a chance to play for the national team.

"My relation with Babar is not from today - it's been since when we both gave trials for under-15. I only came into the team when Babar became the captain; however, that doesn't mean he took me into the team. The person who brought me into the team was Misbah-ul-Haq. I mentioned earlier, too, that Babar didn't get me into the team, and why would he? This isn't his team - it's Pakistan's team. Even Babar has acknowledged this himself," Usman told Cricket Pakistan.

"If the critique is around Babar's and my friendship, then I should never have been out of the team in the first place. In fact, Babar's friendship has caused me more harm than benefit because that has always added extra pressure on both of us equally," he further added.