New Delhi: Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman expressed frustration with former captain Babar Azam’s omission from the Test squad for the remaining two matches against England. The news came after Babar failed to score a single Test half-century since December 2022. However, Fakhar criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for not backing the senior player while citing India’s example of not dropping Virat Kohli from the team during his lean patch.
In the first Test against England, Babar scored 30 and 5, respectively, on the flat Multan pitch where England’s Harry Brook (317) and Joe Root (262) created history for the side. Before the start of the second Test on the same pitch from Tuesday, Pakistan released Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Sarfaraz Ahmed from the squad.
“It’s concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam. India didn’t bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively. If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan has ever produced, it could send a deeply negative message across the team. There is still time to avoid pressing the panic button; we should focus on safeguarding our key players rather than undermining them,” Fakhar wrote on X.
The changes to Pakistan’s squad were made by a newly-formed selection committee, formed hours after the hosts’ suffered an embarrassing loss by an innings and 47 runs to England in the first Test at Multan. Pakistan are 0-1 behind in the three-match Test series against England and are also at the bottom of the ongoing World Test Championship standings.
A statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said taking into consideration the current form and fitness of key players and looking ahead to Pakistan’s future assignments in the 2024-25 international cricket season, the selectors have decided to give rest to Babar, Shaheen, Naseem and Sarfaraz.
“We are confident that this break from international cricket will help these players regain their fitness, confidence and composure, ensuring they return in top shape for future challenges.
“They remain some of our finest talents with much more to contribute to Pakistan cricket. We are fully committed to supporting them during this period so they can come back even stronger,” said new selection committee member Aqib Javed in a statement.
Pakistan squad for second and third Tests: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah (wicket-keeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood.
–IANS