Pakistan’s decision to ‘rest’ batting star Babar Azam from the remaining two Tests of their series against England hasn’t gone down well with former captain Ramiz Raja. Babar was among four players including Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Sarfaraz Ahmed who have been dropped from the Test squad after Pakistan suffered a historic defeat in the series opener in Multan.
Raja, a former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, suggested that it should’ve been Babar himself to take call on whether he wished to be rested and not the selection committee. He went on to term the decision as a “knee-jerk reaction”.
“It should have been Babar’s call, whether he wanted time out from the playing XI or not. I think it was a knee-jerk reaction, new selectors in, the general opinion was that he needed rest and he was taken out of the squad completely,” Raja said on Sky Sports.
He also felt that Babar is currently one of the biggest cricket stars in Pakistan and his presence in the team is essential to generate interest in the sport.
“Now we need to understand that he sells cricket for Pakistan and this debate that’s happening right now in Pakistan whether it’s going to be another failure for Babar Azam or whether he’s going to make a comeback and that keeps things interesting,” he said.
“Right now I don’t see any saleable commodity in this Pakistan team, because sponsors are a little wary as well because Pakistan has been on the losing sequence and there are no real superstars playing in this Test match now,” he added.
Babar has hasn’t been in the best of form since early 2023, particularly in Test matches, where he hasn’t scored a half-century in his last 18 innings.
Since the start of 2023, he has averaged just under 21 in nine Test matches, while Shaheen has also faced difficulties with form, being rested or dropped for the second Test against Bangladesh last month and for the final Test in Sydney in January.
With PTI Inputs
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