Reports: Irked Babar Azam refused to play on Day 2 in Karachi to mark protest against stringent security

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is doing the business with the bat for the home side in the ongoing Test series against England, but he is not too happy with some of the off-field antics of the PCB. The batting ace was absent from the field during the first hour of play on Sunday in a sign of protest after he was stopped from going out to dinner with his teammates and their families by security personnel on Saturday night.

The news coming from the Pakistani camp is that the skipper had planned to go out to dinner with Sarfaraz Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, and Imam-ul-Haq with their families at a local restaurant. However, he was stopped in his tracks by the security personnel at the team hotel, demanding clearance for their movements. 

Babar was left fuming after the incident and decided to refrain from taking the field in the first hour of the second day of the third Test in a sign of protest. Although the official statement from the team stated that the skipper had a severe headache, it couldn't be any further from the truth. According to reports, the batting ace is miffed after the incident as he had a heated argument with one of the senior security personnel at the team hotel before storming to his room.

Both Pakistan and England have been provided, with President level security for the series as the PCB are not taking any chances with all eyes on next year's Asia Cup in the country. The T20I series between the two sides in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup in Australia earlier this year also saw a similar security setting in place for both teams. However, the Pakistani skipper is getting fed up with the constant surveillance and security of cricketers in the country and feels that they are getting a bit intrusive now.