diff --git a/tools/perf/tests/shell/stat_bpf_counters.sh b/tools/perf/tests/shell/stat_bpf_counters.sh
index 13473aeba489c..6bf24b85294c7 100755
--- a/tools/perf/tests/shell/stat_bpf_counters.sh
+++ b/tools/perf/tests/shell/stat_bpf_counters.sh
@@ -22,10 +22,10 @@ compare_number()
 }
 
 # skip if --bpf-counters is not supported
-if ! perf stat --bpf-counters true > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+if ! perf stat -e cycles --bpf-counters true > /dev/null 2>&1; then
 	if [ "$1" = "-v" ]; then
 		echo "Skipping: --bpf-counters not supported"
-		perf --no-pager stat --bpf-counters true || true
+		perf --no-pager stat -e cycles --bpf-counters true || true
 	fi
 	exit 2
 fi