'Makes a brand well': Shaheen Shah Afridi takes a cheeky dig at Shoaib Akhtar

The controversy surrounding former speedster Shoaib Akhtar's "brand" statement involving fan-favourite cricketer Babar Azam is an affair everyone is well acquainted with.

Akhtar had criticised the Pakistan skipper on his speaking skills.

With the matter made headlines, Babar Azam's fans and supporters were not happy about it. The prolific batter had received support not only from fans but also from various co-players and former cricketers alike.

This time around, Pakistan's pace sensation Shaheen Shah Afridi has showed support to his captain in an indirect way during interview with a local channel, took a cheeky dig at former paceman for his demeaning comments.

When the interviewer asked which quality of Shoaib Akhtar does he like, Afridi smilingly said: "[Akhtar] makes a brand very well."

A meme video of this part of the interview is going viral on social media. 

What did Shoaib Akhtar say?

Akhtar in an interview had questioned Babar's inability to emerge as the "biggest brand" of the country amid a stellar cricket career..  

"I want to openly say that Babar Azam should be the biggest brand in Pakistan, but why hasn't he become the biggest brand in Pakistan? Because he can’t speak," he had said during a TV show.

"Cricket is one job, and handling media is another. If you can’t speak, I am sorry, but you won’t be able to express yourself on TV," he added.

He had said that he did not intend to disparage Babar Azam, who "needs to improve himself if he wants to be a big brand".