Zaheer Abbas demands Babar Azam’s exclusion from Pakistan squad

Legendary Pakistan batter Zaheer Abbas has criticised national white-ball captain Babar Azam over his recent form and demanded his removal from the squad.

Babar has been under tight scrutiny due to his below-par performances recently, the highlight of which was his dismal run in the two-match home Test series against Bangladesh.

He crashed out of the top ten list in the ICC Test Batting Rankings after a forgettable home series against Bangladesh, where he managed 64 runs in four innings.

He last crossed the 50-run mark in red-ball cricket back in December 2022 against New Zealand with a marathon 161-run knock. Since then, he has played 16 innings with a highest score of 39 against Sri Lanka in July 2023.

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Zaheer Abbas, during an appearance on a sports talk show in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), questioned his place in the team owing to his dismal performances.

“Babar Azam should be dropped from the team,” Abbas said. “If he’s not scoring runs, because if he’s our main batsman and he’s out of form, he should be out of the team.”

However, Pakistan’s team management has shown faith in the star batter and backed him for the upcoming Test series against England, starting from 7 October in Multan.

Pakistan squad for first Test against England: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper), and Shaheen Shah Afridi, Zahid Mehmood.

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