Pakistan captain Babar Azam has broken his silence on the significant changes made to the squad and coaching staff during the ongoing three-Test series against England. The tour has been marked by upheaval, with seven players sent home midway through the series and the coaching staff replaced.
England currently leads the series 2-0 after victories at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs and at Lord’s by 194 runs, with the final Test scheduled for September 9-13 at Edgbaston. When asked whether he had been aware of the changes following the second Test or had any involvement in the decisions, Babar indicated that he had not been consulted and only learned about the developments later.
“I was not consulted. It was news to me as well. I only found out about all these things later. PCB made the decisions, so they can explain it to you better,” said Babar as quoted by Hindustan Times.
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The Pakistan captain was then asked how difficult it had been to deal with a turbulent week in which seven players and members of the coaching staff were sent home. Babar described the situation as ‘not difficult, but surprising’. When asked again whether he had been involved in any of the decisions, including the call to send players back to Pakistan, he gave a brief response, ‘No’.
The interaction became more pointed when Babar’s contributions as both captain and batter came under scrutiny. Responding to a question about his recent performances, the Pakistan captain pointed to his form in the team’s previous Test series in the Caribbean.
“If you talk about my performance, I guess I was the man of the series against West Indies as Captain,” Babar said.
Babar had missed the opening Test at Headingley due to a right-hand injury sustained during a tour match at Beckenham, where he was struck by England Under-19 pacer Manny Lumsden. He returned for the Lord’s Test, where he scored 8 in Pakistan’s first innings and 6 in the second innings. With Pakistan trailing 0-2 in the series, the captain will look to lead a response in the final Test at Edgbaston.
