Legendary Indian cricketer Zaheer Abbas said that fighting Babar Azam should be dropped from the squad ahead of Pakistan’s white-ball tour of Australia next month. The former Pakistan captain has been struggling to deliver in all formats for a long time.
He was recently rested for the two Test matches of a three-match Test series against England at home. However, after these two games, the right-handed hitter returned to the Pakistan cricket team.
Zaheer Abbas suggests Babar Azam needs an internal reboot before returning
Babar Azam has been included in the white-ball teams for the tours of Australia and Zimbabwe. However, Zaheer Abbas has asked Babar Azam to return to domestic cricket to regain his form after a challenging period in his career.
The star batsman has not scored an international century since his remarkable 151 against Nepal in the Asia Cup on August 30, 2023, and so has been on the radar of his critics.
Abbas believes that taking a break from international cricket could benefit Babar in the long run. The legendary batsman has emphasized that even the best players go through tough times and using the domestic matches to regain confidence could be the key to Babar’s resurgence.
You should be eliminated if you don’t score: Zaheer Abbas
Zaheer Abbas was quoted by Sports Tak: “Sometimes they go through a bad patch. It happens. It happens. But if you are not scoring runs, it is better to be dropped and come back after playing good matches in domestic cricket.”
Meanwhile, Babar Azam recently resigned from Pakistan’s ODI and T20I captaincy, and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) named Mohammad Rizwan the new white-ball captain who will begin his journey with the upcoming ODI series in Australia, a starting November 4th.
On the other hand, Gary Kirsten’s shocking resignation as head coach of the Pakistan cricket team has stunned the entire cricket world, and now new revelations claim that the controversial Babar Azam debate played a key role in his exit.
Gary Kirsten resigned as Pakistan coach due to Babar Azam.
A Cricket Pakistan report claimed that both Kirsten and assistant coach Jason Gillespie were against the decision to rest Babar for the upcoming white-ball series against Zimbabwe. Kirsten reportedly believed Babar needed game time to adapt to the conditions ahead of the crucial Test series against South Africa.
Kirsten precisely planned the 2025 Champions Trophy and tours to Australia and Zimbabwe, but Proteas Great were left disappointed as the selection committee made significant changes to the teams. After Pakistan’s first Test against England, the PCB revamped the selection committee and brought in Aaqib Javed, Aleem Dar and Azhar Ali.
While doing so, the PCB took away all powers from the coach and captain, which did not sit well with Kirsten as she was promised that she would have authority over team selection when she took over. He finally decided to part ways with the PCB even without leading the team in an ODI match since his appointment.