‘India didn’t bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch’ - Fakhar Zaman lambasts PCB for dropping struggling Babar Azam

Pakistan’s Test team management, led by captain Shan Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie, dropped Babar Azam from the remainder of the series against England. The former captain has  been struggling heavily in red-ball cricket  with his last half-century in the format dating back to December 2022. The team, meanwhile, was white-washed in the away tour against Australia and home series against Bangladesh.

More recently a defeat in the first Test against England in Multan after posting 556 in the first innings has put them under further pressure. A few changes were expected, however, dropping star batter Babar came out of the blue for many, including Fakhar Zaman. The cricketer lambasted the team management and reminded that even India’s Virat Kohli struggled to find his form for three years but the team management never dropped him.

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He believes that dropping Babar impact the team negatively and called for "safeguarding" their star players, rather than putting them under the bus.

“It’s concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam. India didn’t bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively. If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan has ever produced, it could send a deeply negative message across the team. There is still time to avoid pressing the panic button; we should focus on safeguarding our key players rather than undermining them,” Fakhar tweeted.

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Apart from Babar, the team management also rested Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah from the Test squad. Both pacers leaked over 100 runs in the last game and their form has a matter of concern for the management of late. Also, the team management has advised the curators to prepare a spin-friendly track for the second Test, which could have made it easier for them to drop the pace duo.