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Babar Azam on PCB's Decision to Send 7 Players Back Home During England Tour
Confirmed
In Short: Pakistan captain Babar Azam expressed surprise over the significant changes made to the squad and coaching staff during the ongoing three-Test series against England.
Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain, has broken his silence on the series of upheavals during the ongoing three-Test series against England, revealing that he was not consulted about the changes and only learned about them later.
The tour has been marked by dramatic changes, with seven players sent back to Pakistan and the coaching staff replaced midway through the series.
When asked about his involvement in the decisions, Babar stated, 'I was not consulted. It was news to me as well.' He added, 'If you talk about my performance, I guess I was the man of the series against West Indies as Captain.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made the decision to sack the national team’s head coach and send seven players back home following the defeat against England at Lord’s last week.
The board’s high-performance director and selector, Aaqib Javed, revealed that the decision to sack the coaching staff was a reaction to their inability to make certain selection calls ahead of the second Test.
Seven players, including seasoned campaigners Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan, and Salman Ali Agha, were axed from the squad, while five of the replacements flown to the UK were uncapped players.
Babar described the situation as 'not difficult, but surprising,' and the developments came as a surprise to him as well, according to reports from Dawn.
What's still developing
- The interaction became more pointed when Babar’s contributions as both captain and batter came under scrutiny.
- Babar had missed the opening Test at Headingley due to a right-hand injury sustained during a tour match at Beckenham, where he was struck by England Under-19 pacer Manny Lumsden.
- “…The new players are coming in, and they have a golden opportunity to grab it and play this game,” he said, adding that the final Test, being a dead rubber, could help Pakistan handle the pressure better.