New Delhi: Pakistan captain Shan Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie were reportedly not in favour of dropping star batter Babar Azam from the Test squad for their remaining two matches against England in the ongoing three-match series at home. Former Pakistan skipper Babar was dropped from the Test team by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s new-look selection committee on Sunday.
Babar was dropped from the team along with pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah with the selection panel’s decision sending shockwaves across the Pakistan cricket fraternity. The decision to drop the trio was taken in the aftermath of Pakistan’s humiliating innings defeat against England in the first Test in Multan.
Pakistan lost the 1st Test despite having posted a mammoth total of 556 runs in their first innings on a belter of a track in Multan. While Pakistan skipper Masood blamed the bowlers for their poor show in the series opener, the selectors felt it was also time for Babar to be sidelined from the team amid his lean patch in the longest format.
Babar has been struggling with his form in Tests since the start of 2023 and has gone 18 innings without scoring a half-century in the longest format. His last Test ton came against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022. The writing was on the wall for Babar following his poor show in the 1st Test in Multan and he faced the axe for the remainder of the series.
As per a report in PTI, a PCB source revealed that skipper Masood, head coach Gillespie and at least two PCB mentors were against the idea of dropping Babar from the team. The source also revealed that Shaheen and Naseem withdrew themselves from the series citing niggles.
“Both of them (Shaheen and Naseem) told the selectors they should be withdrawn from the two Tests,” a PCB source was quoted as saying by PTI.
“Perhaps these two had come to know they were going to be dropped so decided to withdraw themselves to save themselves from embarrassment,” the source added.
New selectors insisted on dropping Babar Azam
Pakistan’s senior selection panel was rejigged following the hosts’ crushing defeat in the first Test against England in Multan. As per PTI, new selectors Aaqib Javed and Aleem Dar insisted on dropping Babar citing his poor form and lack of confidence in Test cricket.
The selectors have added uncapped players Mehran Mumtaz, Kamran Ghulam and Haseebullah in the Test squad after dropping the senior players. Fast bowler Mohammad Ali has also been included in Pakistan’s squad for the final two Test matches against England.
It remains to be seen who will take Babar’s place in Pakistan’s playing XI in the second Test against England which is all set to get underway Tuesday, October 15.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood was reportedly not in favour of the selectors dropping star batter Babar Azam from the Test squad for the remaining two matches against England. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
