The newly constituted selection committee on Sunday excluded Babar, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Sarfaraz Ahmed off the roster for the ongoing second and forthcoming third Test against England.
Subsequent to the announcement, Fakhar Zaman utilized his official X (previously Twitter) account to convey his disappointment. He referenced the manner in which India handled Virat Kohli throughout his challenging period from 2020 to 2023.
“It is troubling to receive proposals regarding the dismissal of Babar Azam.” Fakhar stated that India did not bench Virat Kohli during his challenging period from 2020 to 2023, when he recorded averages of 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively.
The left-handed batsman commended Babar, deeming him the greatest Pakistani batsman in history, while emphasizing the necessity of strategic decisions instead of resorting to panic.
“Sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the finest Pakistan has ever produced, may convey a profoundly negative message to the team.” There remains an opportunity to avert unnecessary alarm; our emphasis should be on protecting our pivotal actors rather than compromising them,” he stated.
Subsequently, the next day, the PCB issued a show-cause notice to Fakhar for violating the Code of Conduct. The cricket board has requested the dynamic batsman to reply to the notification by October 21.
The second Test between Pakistan and England is now in progress in Multan, while the third and final match of the series is scheduled to take place in Rawalpindi starting October 15.
