Pakistan’s limited-overs captain Babar Azam joined Somerset Club on September 2 for this year’s edition of England’s domestic season namely T20 Blast. The tournament commenced from August 27 but Babar was already playing against England in a three-match Test and T20 series.

The batsman joined Somerset as soon as the T20I series ended and will be available until October 4, meaning that he will be there for the club’s last seven league games as well as the knockouts if the team qualifies. Babar’s acceptance to play is a huge boost for Somerset as he was the highest run-getter in the 2019 season, scoring 578 runs at an average of 52.54.

Babar Azam will not endorse an alcohol brand on his jersey

On September 3, Azam played his first match for Somerset in the 2020 edition of T20 Blast. The two central group teams, Somerset and Worcestershire were up against each other in Birmingham. During the match, Babar was seen wearing the Somerset jersey with the name of the sponsor Tribute on the back. This shocked many cricket fans as Tribute is an alcoholic brand and many Pakistani and other Muslim cricketers refrain from endorsing such brands on their cricket jerseys.

Clearing the air around the same, cricket journalist Saj Sadiq took to his official Twitter handle to inform people that due to an error, the logo of the alcoholic brand was left on Babar’s jersey. However, the team management will rectify its mistake before the next match.

Saj tweeted, “The sponsors logo for a brand of alcohol on Babar Azam’s Somerset shirt was left on in error. Somerset will be removing the logo before their next match in the T20 Blast #Cricket #VitalityBlast”

The sponsors logo for a brand of alcohol on Babar Azam’s Somerset shirt was left on in error. Somerset will be removing the logo before their next match in the T20 Blast #Cricket #VitalityBlast pic.twitter.com/yEQO9Y4EPd

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) September 3, 2020

Babar Azam follows and practices Islam, which proscribes followers and practitioners to consume alcohol. Being a devout Muslim, the 25-year-old has decided to not sport the logo of the alcohol brand on his cricketing kit.

The opening batsman had a decent start of his stint in the T20 Blast this year as he smashed 42 runs in 35 balls including 4 fours and 1 six at a strike rate of 120.00 against Worcestershire. The Somerset Club clinched the match against Worcestershire by 16 runs and are now placed at the third position in the central group points table with 5 points.