Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has raised questions over Babar Azam’s position in the national Test setup following the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) sweeping changes during the ongoing England tour.
The PCB recently sent seven players home while also removing Test head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul from the touring party midway through the series.
Latif questioned the rationale behind the changes, particularly the decision to send Sarfaraz and Gul back while key decisions regarding the team were allegedly being influenced remotely.
“If the team had to be run by remote control, then why were Sarfaraz and Umar Gul sent? Why were the selection powers taken away from Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie? [in the past]” Latif questioned in a post on X.
His remarks came after national selector and director of the High Performance Centre Aqib Javed defended the PCB’s decisions, claiming the team management in England had not followed recommendations from the national selection committee while finalising the playing XI for the second Test.
Latif then questioned whether the same logic could apply to captain Babar Azam if he too had failed to follow instructions from the selection committee.
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“And if captain Babar Azam wasn’t listening, the captain should have been sacked — so why were Sarfaraz and Umar Gul sent back instead? Is Babar Azam the next target?” he further asked.