NEW DELHI: Babar Azam, who has been a key player for Pakistan across all formats, faced a major setback as the selectors decided to drop him for the second Test against England. His omission came in the wake of Pakistan's crushing innings defeat in the first Test in Multan, despite posting a strong first-innings total of over 550 runs.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan criticized Pakistan’s decision to drop Babar, calling it "stupid."
"So, Pakistan haven’t won in a while... Go 1-nil down in the series and decide to drop the best player in @babarazam258. I guess Pakistan cricket is full of surprises, but this tops the lot... absolutely stupid decision... unless he has asked for a break!!!" Vaughan wrote on social media.
Babar, who recently stepped down as Pakistan’s white-ball captain, has faced criticism for his underwhelming form with the bat. The 29-year-old’s last 50-plus score in Tests came 18 innings ago, during the Multan Test against New Zealand in December 2022.
In addition to Babar, Pakistan also dropped star pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Sarfaraz Ahmed from the squad for the remaining two matches of the series.
Addressing these changes, selection panel member Aaqib Javed explained, “Selecting the squad for the upcoming Tests against England has been a challenging task for the selectors. We’ve had to carefully consider current player form, the urgency to bounce back in the series, and Pakistan’s demanding 2024-25 international schedule.
“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,” he added.
Pakistan squad for second and third Tests: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer 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, Zahid Mehmood.
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