Babar Azam
Pakistan have axed star cricketer Babar Azam from their second Test against England, which is set to start on 15 October in Multan. This is against the backdrop of swelling speculations over his terrible run of form, as the batsman has not scored a fifty in Test cricket since December 2022. This is a landmark moment in Babar’s career because it marks the first exclusion he faces from Pakistan’s first XI in the game’s longest format.
The decision to leave out Babar Azam was taken by the board after holding a meeting with the Pakistan men’s senior selection committee. This committee consisted of former cricketing persons, such as Aaqib Javed, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, former umpire Aleem Dar, and data analyst Hassan Cheema. It is considered one of the influential personalities in the cricket world. They met with the PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, to discuss the overall strategy for the team. Five mentors were included in these meetings: Shoaib Malik, Waqar Younis, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Misbah-ul-Haq, and Saqlain Mushtaq.
Despite Shan Masood, the Pakistan Test captain who has consistently supported Babar as their team’s best batter, the selection committee was reportedly mixed on the decision of whether to give him one last chance to perform or take a break to regroup.
It would appear that Babar Azam’s relatively fast decline in form shows little similarity to his coherent rise at the outset of his career.
Babar Azam’s poor form for some time now has haunted the team. His last half-century came nearly two years ago, and performances have seriously dipped ever since with an average of just 21 runs in his last nine Test matches. How Babar managed scores of just 30 and 5 on a batting-friendly pitch in the first Test against England at Multan sealed his fate for the second Test.
Babar failure in Test cricket is something surprising because he was one of the top five batsmen overall crossing the three formats of the game. Surprisingly, it has become worse in the last three months so his last century waits its turn to be seen in an ODI against Nepal in August 2023.
The news of Babar’s exclusion had fans going all over social media with different reactions. Fans reacted with one laced full of disappointment and disbelief, even wondering the rationale for dropping their main man, Babar Azam, the best batter for the team. “We watch Pakistan matches only for Babar Azam, and if he is dropped, we won’t even switch on the television,” one asked. Another just sarcastically wondered about his prospects: “We will soon see Babar Azam play in the Legends League against retired players like Irfan Pathan.”
A few outright criticized the move, while others wanted this as it would be the right and apt step for Babar to reset and return stronger. The cricketing community got divided, from calls for patience to suggestions that he regain lost form in domestic cricket.
Moving into the second Test, the planning here will be underdone regarding the replacement of Babar Azam and other key changes in the team. Abrar Ahmed, who was hospitalized after the first Test, will not feature in the next match as well while at the same time recuperating. His non-outlook might force either Noman Ali or Sajid Khan to be introduced into the playing XI to further strengthen the bowling lineup.
Pakistan’s first-class cricket tournament, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, is set to kick off on 20 October but it is still unknown whether Babar will play in the tournament and regain his touch or remain out working on his game differently. For Babar, playing this tournament would be another important step on his journey to staging a comeback as this would provide him with an avenue to recapture his batting skills.
The star cricketer is facing one of the toughest moments in his life as he was left out of the squad. Recently resigned from Pakistan’s white-ball captaincy, and now dumped from the Test squad, it has not been the best of times for the much-marketed cricketer. The followers are eagerly looking forward to seeing some wake-up call and an opportunity for him to polish his skills.
Pakistan cricket has always scripted comebacks, and so many think that Babar Azam is yet another who can bounce back harder. With Babar out of the scheme of Test Cricket, at least for this series, it could just give him the much-needed time off from the duel he has been engaged in with Rohit Sharma.
But with Pakistan staring at the second Test against England, all the attention would be on the team’s performance without the talismanic Babar Azam. Dropping the star player might look ambitious but could prove to be a calculated step in helping the fortunes of the team. Whether or not this strategy will pay off remains to be seen but one thing is for sure-the cricketing world is more than excited about how Babar Azam would react to this setback.
Read about Experts Review Of PCT
To Read More: Sports