New Delhi: After Pakistan’s defeat against England in the first Test at Multan Cricket Stadium, former captain Babar Azam is set to be dropped from the squad for the second Test. As per the ESPNCricinfo report, the newly formed selection committee met in Lahore after Pakistan’s humiliating loss and recommended dropping Babar’s name from the second Test.
The Committee met for the second time in Lahore on Saturday, including the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. After the defeat against England, skipper Shan Masood backed Babar and called him ‘Pakistan’s best batter’. He also urged selectors to give players more time. Babar has not scored a Test half-century since December 2022 and the selection panel collectively felt that the time away from the team will benefit him.
The newly formed selection committee includes the captain and coach of the particular format and Aaqib Javed, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, former ICC umpire Aleem Dar and analyst Hassan Cheema. But As per the ESPNcricinfo report, Masood and Gillespie were not part of the meeting on Friday. But both attended the meeting that happened on Saturday in Multan and it is believed that the majority of opinions were in favour of dropping Babar.
The former Pakistani skipper has struggled to score runs for the last two years and it is still not clear that he will participate in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, which is scheduled to start on October 20. He has not played a single match in the first-class cricket competition since 2019.
Babar Azam’s poor form
Babar Azam only managed to score just 35 runs across two innings in the opening test against England on a flat surface in Multan. In the last nine Tests, his average dropped under 21. Under his leadership, Pakistan failed to qualify for the semifinals of the 2023 ODI World Cup after which he resigned as captain of all formats. But just after four months, he was reappointed as the captain of the team for the T20 World Cup 2024.
His second stint as skipper was also not good as the team was eliminated from the group stage of the T20 World Cup. Just six months after he was reappointed, he once again stepped down as captain to focus on his batting. Babar was considered one of the best Test batters during his prime from November 2019 to the end of 2022.
He averaged more than 60 in 25 Test matches, including eight centuries and 15 half-centuries. Babar was considered one of the best Test batters during his prime from November 2019 to the end of 2022. He averaged more than 60 in 25 Test matches, including eight centuries and 15 half-centuries.
As per the report, Babar Azam is set to be dropped from Pakistan’s squad for the second Test against England. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
