NEW DELHI: Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman has come out in support of Babar Azam after the former captain was dropped for the second and third Tests against England due to his poor form with the bat.
Star pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah als faced the heat as they were left out of the squad for the remaining Tests in Multan and Rawalpindi.
Fakhar emphasized that India stood by Virat Kohli during his extended slump in form and warned that the PCB‘s decision to sideline arguably their best batter could send a negative message.
“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 posted on X.
The decision to revamp the playing squad follows Pakistan’s innings defeat in the opening Test, which also led to a reshuffling of the selection panel. Aleem Dar, Aaqib Javed, and Azhar Ali have joined Asad Shafiq, Hasan Cheema, along with the coach and captain, in the new lineup.
“We’ve made the decision to rest Babar Azam and a few other players,” said Aaqib Javed in a Pakistan Cricket Board release. Azam has not scored a fifty in his last 18 Test innings and managed just 30 and five in the first Test defeat.
Earlier this month, the right-handed batter announced his decision to step down as Pakistan’s white-ball captain to “focus” on improving his personal performance.
During Babar’s tenure as captain, which began in 2019, Pakistan did not secure a major tournament victory. Last year, under his leadership, Pakistan was knocked out of the Asia Cup in the Super 4 stage following a narrow two-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Pakistan’s struggles continued a few months later when they failed to reach the knockout stage of the ODI World Cup in India.
After the World Cup, Babar resigned as captain across all formats. Shaheen Shah Afridi was named T20I captain but was replaced after just one series, where Pakistan suffered a 4-1 defeat to New Zealand.
Babar was then reinstated as the white-ball captain, while Shan Masood retained his position as Test captain.