Babar Azam should be dropped from Pakistan team: Zaheer Abbas

Former cricketer Zaheer Abbas, known as Asian Bradman, has criticized Pakistan white-ball captain Babar Azam over his recent form and demanded his removal from the Test squad announced for England series.

The top order Babar has been under tight scrutiny due to his below-par performances since 2022 in Test cricket.

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

The former white-ball captain last crossed the 50-run mark in Tests back in December 2022 against New Zealand with a marathon 161-run knock.

Since then, Babar Azam has played 16 innings with a highest score of 39 against Sri Lanka in July 2023.

Cricket legend Zaheer Abbas, during an appearance on a sports talk show, 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.”

Zaheeer Abbas also dismissed comparisons between Babar and Indian batting icon Virat Kohli.

“The comparisons are pointless. Virat Kohli scores in every match, the other player (Babar) doesn’t score in any match, so then how can you compare? The person who scores is the bigger player,” Zaheer Abbas remarked.

It is to be noted that Pakistan will play three Tests against England in October. The 2 Tests will be played In Multan while Rawalpindi Stadium will host third Test.

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.