Ex-Pakistan Stars Fight Over Babar Azam - (Source: ScreenGrab/X)
Things are not well within Pakistan cricket, and the entire matter is out there in public. The ongoing England tour has gone from bad to worse following Imam-ul-Haq’s injury controversy, which has turned into a headache for newly-appointed captain Babar Azam.
Imam-ul-Haq suffered a grade-one calf injury on Day 1 of the 2nd Test, following which he opted not to bat in the match. It resulted in a heavy defeat for Pakistan, which led to Babar Azam being at the centre of heavy criticism and tough selection questions targeted at him, as Imam-ul-Haq also happens to be his close friend.
Tanvir Ahmed And Mohammad Wasim Fight Over Babar Azam
In the latest events, ex-Pakistan cricketers turned analysts Tanvir Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim got into an argument over Babar. Notably, Wasim was the first to opine that Imam-ul-Haq was faking his injury.
Now, in this clip, Tanvir Ahmed accused Wasim of taking Babar’s name in his videos for views, taking advantage of his superstar status. In reply, Wasim had a contrasting opinion, stating that Babar is not even a star compared to greats like Mohammad Yosouf, Younis Khan, and Inzamam-ul-Haq.
"Forget about being a superstar, he isn't even a star player yet. He hasn't yet reached the level of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq," Mohammad Wasim remarked on the show.
For the unversed, Tanvir Ahmed represented Pakistan from 2010-2013. Meanwhile, Wasim played for Pakistan from 1996 to 2000. He further served as PCB's chief selector from 2020 to 2022. Notably, Wasim was the one to first release Imam-ul-Haq from Pakistan's Test squad.
Babar Azam's Silent Show In England
Amid the heavy criticism, the internet is filled with pundits debating over Babar’s actions as a captain. The right-handed batter missed the 1st Test due to injury and was out of the picture in the 2nd Test as well.
Before the start of the series, there were a lot of hopes on Babar Azam because the right-handed batter played just 4 matches before the series, amassing 263 runs and averaging 65.75 against England.
Talking about the Lord's Test, Babar registered two single-digit scores and amassed just 14 runs across two innings, averaging 7.00.
Also Read: Fresh Faces Added As Pakistan Revamps Squad For 3rd Test vs England
Besides the on-field show, there were a lot of expectations from Babar to have a say as a captain. However, it has been a two-way communication between PCB and the team management and Babar kept completely out of the picture.
Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha among seven players released
On Monday, August 31, PCB pulled 7 players out of the squad for the 3rd Test against England. Imam-Ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad are the players who will return to Pakistan.
Pakistan's updated squad for 3rd Test
Babar Azam (capt), Abdullah Fazal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Razaullah, Saad Baig (wk) Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
Also Read: PCB Sends Players Back From England Mid-Tour; Has BCCI Ever Done The Same?
.jpg?type=mq "Mumbai Captain Replaced")
