Babar Azam's father reveal why son is playing in LPL 2023 despite less money, more work: 'Long live Pakistan'

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Babar Azam's father Azam Siddique has revealed how his son gave up a lucrative deal to feature in Global T20 Canada and instead opted to play for less money in hot and humid conditions of Sri Lanka in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2023.

Siddique in his Instagram post on Tuesday informed that Babar was gearing up to play in the third season of the Global T20 Canada as he was going to get to play in cooler conditions apart from offering a better pay in fewer days.

However, the star batter snapped the idea as soon as his father reminded him that the Asia Cup would be played in Sri Lanka and batting on sub-continent wickets would also help him and Pakistan in the World Cup 2023 scheduled to be played in India from October 5 to November 14.

“Salaam [Hello] Pakistan, Babar told me during the Sri Lanka Test series that he would be receiving the same amount of money for the Global T20 Canada league, which is for 10 [16] days, and the Colombo League [Lanka Premier League], which is for 25 days. The weather in Canada would also be very good, while it is intensely hot in Sri Lanka," Siddique wrote in his post.

“I suggested playing the Sri Lanka League, also mentioning that the Asia Cup would also be held in the country. Pakistan could also play Afghanistan in Sri Lanka as well, and the experience of handling difficult wickets will also help in the World Cup," he added.

He further revealed how his son immediately agreed to forego the comfort and money for the sake of Pakistan.

“Those ten days of playing in the best weather and then ten days of rest at home are tempting, but he was prepared to do everything for the country. During a match recently in Sri Lanka, he had to sit and rest twice and he could not breathe properly in the heat.

“All I want to say is that no matter what we do, it should be for Pakistan. Long live Pakistan!”

Babar is making headlines in the LPL 2023 for Colombo strikers and has emerged as the biggest overseas player of the season. He scored match-winning 59 off 52 balls to guide his team to a 27-run win on Monday. Notably, no player from the two teams could manage to cross the 30-run mark on the very difficult batting surface. The 28-year-old is also attracting a lot of fans to the stadium.