Tag: Babar Azam

Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir threw his weight behind under-fire Babar Azam after Pakistan’s long-awaited Test victory at home.

A fierce spin attack on Friday, powered Pakistan to their first victory at home in Test cricket since their win against South Africa back in February 2021 when they thumped England by 152 runs in the second Test of the three-match series.

Ahead of the aforementioned fixture, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made four surprising changes, including dropping their star batter Babar Azam, who has not crossed the fifty-run barrier in the format since December 2022.

Consistent domestic performer Kamran Ghulam, who came in as Babar’s replacement, smashed a well-crafted century on debut, pivotal in guiding Pakistan to a formidable total in the first innings.

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Ghulam’s century made things worse for Babar as social media trolls targetted the latter, claiming that the national team eventually won at home after he was dropped.

This did not sit well with experienced pacer Mohammad Amir, who despite being a a vocal critic of Babar Azam in the past, supported the star batter amid social media trolling.

“Please stop with these petty talks that Babar wasn’t in the team, that is why we won. We won because of better strategy and took advantage of playing on home ground,” wrote Amir on X, formerly Twitter.

He then went on to urge fans to discuss a player’s performance instead of getting “personal”.

“Please don’t get personal with your players. Criticize their performance, but avoid personal remarks,” he added.

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Pakistan’s star cricketers Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi extended their congratulations to the national team following their dominant victory over England in the recently concluded second Test on Friday.

The Shan Masood-led team defeated England by 152 runs to level the three-match series and claim their first Test victory at home since February 2021.

Pakistan made four changes in their Playing XI for the second Test after the crushing loss in the first match, including dropping star players like Babar and Shaheen.

Consequently, Kamran Ghulam made his long-awaited debut, while spin bowlers Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood made their return to the Test side.

Following Pakistan’s victory, Shaheen Afridi took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account and congratulated the team, while praising the Kamran, Sajid and Noman for their impressive performances.

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“Fantastic win at home! Congratulations to Pakistan. Noman Ali and Sajid Khan were exceptional, along with a dream debut for Kamran Ghulam and a massive contribution from Salman Ali Agha. Keep it going, Inshallah,” he posted.

Meanwhile, Babar Azam posted a picture of the team along with a heartfelt message for his teammates.

“Fantastic win. Proud of the effort and spirit,” Babar posted.

It’s worth noting that Noman and Sajid took eleven and nine wickets respectively, becoming only the second Pakistani pair to share 20 wickets in a Test match.

Meanwhile, Kamran Ghulam played a gutsy knock of 118 runs in Pakistan’s first innings.

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Pakistan red-ball captain Shan Masood has heaped high praise on middle-order batter Kamran Ghulam for handling the pressure of replacing star batter Babar Azam in the second Test against England.

The Shan Masood-led team defeated England by 152 runs to level the three-match series and claim their first Test victory at home since February 2021.

Pakistan made four changes in their Playing XI for the second Test after the crushing loss in the first match where they lost by an innings and 47 runs.

Kamran made his long-awaited debut, replacing out-of-form Babar. Meanwhile, spin bowlers Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood replaced Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.

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The right-hander made an immediate impact, becoming the 13th player from Pakistan to score a hundred on debut.

Shan Masood highlighted the pressure which Kamran faced ahead of his debut Test and appreciated the batter for his performance.

“I think for Kami (Kamran Ghulam), it’s never easy when you’re replacing one of the best batters in the world,” said the Pakistan captain.

“I read some things that were horrid even before he played his first Test match, so I can’t even imagine the pressure someone can be under, but we were all behind him. From the get-go, he seemed like he belonged. To get that century, that was special.”

READ: Noman Ali and Sajid Khan become the first pair to achieve THIS feat since 1972

DUBAI: Pakistan batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan experienced a major drop in their positions in the latest ICC Test Batting Rankings released on Wednesday.

Pakistan cricket team is going through a tough phase, having lost their first-ever Test series against Bangladesh, followed by a crushing defeat in the first Test against England.

Consequently, most of the Pakistani players have witnessed a decline in their positions in ICC Test rankings. Currently, there are no players from Pakistan in the top ten Test rankings.

Babar Azam crashed out of the top ten list in the ICC Test Batting Rankings last month after a forgettable two-match home Test series against Bangladesh, where he managed a meagre 64 runs in four innings.

Meanwhile, in the first Test against England, he scored 35 runs in two innings after which he was dropped from the squad for the remainder of the series.

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Following his dismal performance, Babar has dropped three places to 15th with 684 rating points. However, he is the highest-ranked Pakistani player due to the steep fall of Mohammad Rizwan.

The wicket-keeper batter slipped 12 places to reach the 19th spot with 678 points after he bagged a duck in the first innings while managing only 10 runs in the second innings during the first Test against England.

Salman Ali Agha, on the other hand, made a big leap of 11 spots to claim 22nd position, while captain Shan Masood jumped 12 places to 51st.

Shan scored a brilliant 151 in the first innings of the Multan Test, however, the second innings saw him score only 11 runs. Salman Ali Agha enjoyed a stellar run in the first Test against England with scores of 104* and 63.

Shaheen Afridi, who returned with figures of 1-120 in the first Test, dropped out of the top-ten list and is now placed in 14th place in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings. His teammates Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed also slipped to 34th and 51st respectively.

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Pakistan’s ace batter Babar Azam congratulated Kamran Ghulam on scoring a well-crafted century on Test debut.

Kamran Ghulam was included in Pakistan’s Playing XI for the second Test in place of star batter Babar Azam and he made an immediate impact with a century on his debut.

He came into bat with Pakistan struggling at 19-2 inside ten overs and helped the team recover with a 149-run stand with Saim Ayub for the third wicket.

His defiant knock under pressure in his debut Test earned him massive praise from star batter Babar Azam.

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The star batter posted a picture of Kamran, celebrating his maiden Test century and the caption on the picture read, “Well played, Kamran!”

With his maiden Test century, Kamran Ghulam became the 13th player from Pakistan to cross the three-figure on debut.

The last Pakistani player to achieve this feat was Abid Ali, who scored a century against Sri Lanka in December 2019.

Pakistan players to score Test century on debut

1. Khalid Ibadulla vs Australia — 1964
2. Javed Miandad vs New Zealand — 1976
3. Saleem Malik vs Sri Lanka — 1982
4. Mohammad Wasim vs New Zealand — 1996
5. Ali Naqvi vs South Africa — 1997
6. Azhar Mahmood vs South Africa — 1997
7. Younis Khan vs Sri Lanka — 2000
8. Taufeeq Umar vs Bangladesh — 2001
9. Yasir Hameed vs Bangladesh — 2003
10. Fawad Alam vs Sri Lanka — 2009
11. Umar Akmal vs New Zealand — 2009
12. Abid Ali vs Sri Lanka — 2019
13. Kamran Ghulam vs England — 2024It’s worth noting that Kamran is only the second Pakistani player to score a hundred on Test debut while batting at number four. Prior to him, Saleem Malik achieved this feat in 1982.

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Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja has raised questions over the decision to drop star batter Babar Azam from the squad for the remaining two Test matches against England.

The newly appointed national men’s selection committee on Sunday dropped Babar, along with Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sarfaraz Ahmed from the squad for the ongoing second and upcoming third Test against England.

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 last month.

He managed a meagre 64 runs in four innings during the Bangladesh series, consequently, crashing out of the top ten list in the ICC Test Batting Rankings.

During the first Test against England, the right-hander managed scores of 30 and 5 before losing his place for the remaining matches of the series.

However, Ramiz Raja criticised the decision of selectors, calling it a ‘knee-jerk reaction’.

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While talking to former England cricketers Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton on Sky Sports, Raja expressed his belief that Babar should have been asked if he wanted to rest.

“It should have been Babar’s call whether he wanted time out of the playing XI or not. It was a kneejerk reaction, new selectors in. The general opinion was he needed rest and he was taken out of the squad completely,” Raja stated.

It’s worth noting that Babar 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.

Despite Babar’s bad form, Ramiz Raja believes that he is still the biggest brand in Pakistan cricket and there are no other superstars in the country.

“We need to understand he sells cricket for Pakistan and there is always this debate happening in Pakistan on whether it’s going to be another failure for Babar Azam or whether he is going to make a comeback and that keeps things interesting,” he added.

“Right now, I don’t see any sellable commodity in this Pakistan team. The sponsors are a little wary as well because Pakistan have been on a losing sequence and there are no real superstars playing in this Test match.

READ: Saim Ayub among Pakistan players picked in BPL 2025 draft

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued a show-cause notice to opening batter Fakhar Zaman over his post about star batter Babar Azam.

The newly appointed selection committee on Sunday dropped Babar, along with Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sarfaraz Ahmed from the squad for the ongoing second and upcoming third Test against England.

Following the announcement, Fakhar Zaman took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account and expressed his disappointment. He cited the example of how India treated Virat Kohli during his rough phase from 2020 to 2023.

“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,” Fakhar posted.

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The left-handed batter praised Babar, calling him the best Pakistani batter of all time, while highlighting the need to make calculated moves rather than ‘pressing the panic button.’

“If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan has ever produced, it could send a deeply negative message across the team. There is still time to avoid pressing the panic button; we should focus on safeguarding our key players rather than undermining them,” he added.

Consequently, the following day, the PCB issued a show-cause notice to Fakhar over breaching the Code of Conduct. The cricket board has sought the explosive batter to respond to the notice by October 21.

It’s worth noting that the second Test between Pakistan and England is currently underway in Multan, while the third and final match of the series will be played in Rawalpindi from 15 October.

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Pakistan pace bowler Hasan Ali has backed teammates Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah, who were dropped from the national Test squad for the remaining two matches against England.

Babar, Shaheen and Naseem along with wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed were released from Pakistan’s squad earlier today for the second and third Test matches.

“Taking into consideration the current form and fitness of key players and looking ahead to Pakistan’s future assignments in the 2024-25 international cricket season, the selectors have decided to give rest to Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Abrar Ahmed (who is recovering from dengue fever) was unavailable for selection,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.

“The four players have been replaced by Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, Kamran Ghulam (all uncapped), fast bowler Mohammad Ali and off-spinner Sajid Khan.

“Noman Ali and Zahid Mehmood, who were initially part of the original first Test squad but were subsequently released, have also been included in the 16-player squad.”

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Hasan Ali, who is currently out of action due to an elbow injury, took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account and extended his support to the players who were dropped from Pakistan’s squad.

“Tough times only make comebacks sweeter,” Hasan posted. “My brothers, you’re champions! You’ve done wonders for Pakistan and will continue do so. Keep believing and you’ll be back stronger than ever, Inshallah.”

The second and third Test between Pakistan and England are scheduled to be played in Multan and Rawalpindi on 15 and 24 October, respectively.

Pakistan Squad For Remaining Matches Against England

Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood.

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Pakistan’s white-ball batting mainstay, Fakhar Zaman, has defended star batter Babar Azam, who was dropped from the squad for the upcoming two Test matches against England.

Earlier today, the newly appointed selection committee announced the squad for the upcoming second and third Test matches, which will be played in Multan and Rawalpindi on 15 and 24 October, respectively.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed the squad through a press release on their official website.

“Taking into consideration the current form and fitness of key players and looking ahead to Pakistan’s future assignments in the 2024-25 international cricket season, the selectors have decided to give rest to Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Abrar Ahmed (who is recovering from dengue fever) was unavailable for selection,” the statement said.

“The four players have been replaced by Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, Kamran Ghulam (all uncapped), fast bowler Mohammad Ali and off-spinner Sajid Khan.

“Noman Ali and Zahid Mehmood, who were initially part of the original first Test squad but were subsequently released, have also been included in the 16-player squad.”

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Fakhar Zaman took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account and expressed his disappointment over the suggestions to drop Babar. He cited the example of how India treated Virat Kohli during his rough phase from 2020 to 2023.

“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,” Fakhar posted.

The left-handed batter praised Babar, calling him the best Pakistani batter of all time, while highlighting the need to make calculated moves rather than ‘pressing the panic button.’

“If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan has ever produced, it could send a deeply negative message across the team. There is still time to avoid pressing the panic button; we should focus on safeguarding our key players rather than undermining them,” he added.

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MULTAN: Star batter Babar Azam and pace bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah have been dropped from Pakistan’s squad for the remaining matches of the three-match Test series against England.

The newly appointed selection committee have announced the squad for the second and third Test matches, which will be played in Multan and Rawalpindi on 15 and 24 October, respectively.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed the squad through a press release on their official website.

“Taking into consideration the current form and fitness of key players and looking ahead to Pakistan’s future assignments in the 2024-25 international cricket season, the selectors have decided to give rest to Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Abrar Ahmed (who is recovering from dengue fever) was unavailable for selection,” the statement said.

“The four players have been replaced by Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, Kamran Ghulam (all uncapped), fast bowler Mohammad Ali and off-spinner Sajid Khan.

“Noman Ali and Zahid Mehmood, who were initially part of the original first Test squad but were subsequently released, have also been included in the 16-player squad.”

Aqib Javed, the newly appointed member of the men’s national selection committee, has said that the decision to rest key players has been taken considering the interest of the Pakistan cricket team.

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“Selecting the squad for the upcoming Tests against England has been a challenging task for the selectors. We’ve had to carefully consider current player form, the urgency to bounce back in the series and Pakistan’s demanding 2024-25 international schedule,” Javed said.

“With these factors in mind and in the best interest of Pakistan cricket as well as the players, we’ve made the decision to rest Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

“We are confident that this break from international cricket will help these players regain their fitness, confidence and composure, ensuring they return in top shape for future challenges.

“They remain some of our finest talents with much more to contribute to Pakistan cricket. We are fully committed to supporting them during this period so they can come back even stronger.

“At the same time, we are offering opportunities to uncapped players like Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, and Kamran Ghulam, along with Mohammad Ali, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mehmood.

“They now have the chance to showcase their skills against a formidable England side. We believe they will rise to the occasion and make the most of this opportunity in the remaining two Tests.”

Pakistan Squad For Remaining Matches Against England

Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood.

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