Fakhar Zaman got himself into trouble when he took a stand against Babar Azam being axed by PCB and condemned the selectors for resting him for the remaining Tests against England. Former Skipper Babar was one of the three prominent players who are being excluded from Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming second Test, starting on Tuesday, October 15 along with pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. All three were struggling from poor form in red-ball cricket and therefore, it was only with some boldness that the selectors could have acted when Pakistan after they lost the first Test despite scoring 556 runs in their first innings.
Fakhar Zaman Defends Babar Azam With Virat Kohli Comparison
Pakistan assistant coach Azhar Mahmood clarified that Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi were rested rather than being benched, but it didn’t cut much ice even after Babar asking for a game. Fakhar, who usually makes cuts in the white-ball format, was vocal in his criticism against the selectors, even going on record on how India stood by Virat Kohli during his own torrid phase from 2020 to 2022.
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…
PCB Takes Action Against Fakhar Zaman
The PCB retaliated against the tweet of Fakhar Zaman, reportedly issuing a show cause notice to him for breaching the code of conduct as part of the left-handed batter on a central contract. Fakhar has till October 21 to respond to the show cause notice which alleged him to have breached his contract by criticizing board policies and selection decisions.
What Will Pakistan Do After Resting Their Marquee Players?
In team strategy, Pakistan has decided to go with an all-spin attack, calling back Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, and Zahid Mahmood, with fast-bowling option limited only to Aamer Jamal. Noman is the only player to not have played a Test in over a year, Sajid hasn’t been seen in a match since early this year when he played against Australia, and Zahid returns for his first Test since facing England in Multan way back in 2022. Kamran Ghulam makes his debut, replacing Babar at No. 4 in the batting order. Pakistan will hope the same pitch from the first Test holds out for them again this time, and that their spinners can do the job that the seamers couldn’t and take all 20 wickets. The team has achieved the feat of taking 20 wickets only once in their last six Tests and lost each under Shan Masood’s captaincy. Babar has batted hard, missing a half-century for the first time in the last 18 Test innings, his highest score being only 41 against Australia in Melbourne last year.
The second Test between Pakistan and England will be starting on October 15, Pakistan will be looking forward to forget the terrible defeat while England eyeing another win with a stellar momentum.
