'Babar Azam threatened to leave Pepsi ad. Was asked to drink it during Ramadan'

In a stunning revelation, Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan has said that captain Babar Azam almost walked out of a Pepsi commercial as the star batter was asked to drink the beverage while he was fasting during Ramadan.

Rizwan made the comments during a press conference on Thursday when asked to describe the greatness of Babar. Rizwan started off by praising Babar but stressed more on the human being outside the cricket field.

"It's in front of everyone. What more praises can I sing of him? He is a great player but also an innocent human being. His aim is to take Pakistan cricket to greater heights and he has the love of his people. But more importantly, I would like to talk about the things outside of cricket. The entire world is a fan of his cover drive. But there are qualities he possesses which isn't only confined to the cricketer in him," Rizwan said.

The Pakistan opening batter started off with an element of suspense not revealing much about the incident, but he eventually lifted the lid off the topic, calling it a 'sacrifice'.

"He recently made a sacrifice. While shooting for an ad, he was demanded to do something strange. Ok fine, I will tell you. During a Pepsi ad, while the Ramadan was on, he was asked by the management to drink the beverage but he said he can't do it. Babar threatened to walk out of the Pepsi ad. He said he will leave the commercial but not do this. It may be a small matter but he was willing to make the sacrifice. The offer he was made should be in front of everyone. So, when someone is ready to let go such an offer for his integrity, it speaks volumes of his greatness," revealed Rizwan.

The commercial was eventually completed with the two parties coming to a mutual conclusion.

Rizwan and Babar had a fantastic 2021. Rizwan achieved two new records in T20 cricket in the year as he became the first batter to complete 2000 runs (2036) in a calendar year, out of which 1326 came while playing for Pakistan. With it, Rizwan also became the first to score over 1000 runs in T20Is in a year. Together, Rizwan and Babar put on 6 T20I century partnerships in 2021, the most by any international pair as they went past India's KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma.