The sudden omission of Babar Azam from Pakistan’s last 2 Test matches against England raised a lot of eye-brows. Undoubtedly Pakistan played out of their skin & won Test series by 2-1 but there’s question regarding the future of Babar Azam in Test cricket. Kamran Ghulam who came in place of Babar Azam smashed a terrific maiden Test century in 2nd Test match and looked quite flawless as he has made a strong case for himself.
Head coach Jason Gillespie wasn’t a part of selection panel which was quite shocking. The selection panel was given complete authority to name the playing 11 in last 2 Test matches. Assistant coach Azhar Mahmood though stated that Babar Azam wasn’t dropped but rested ahead of a bumper white ball overseas ODI series & ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Babar Azam has played a lot of cricket & gone through- Shan Masood
Shan Masood was having an interaction with BCC Stumped Radio Programme. Shan Masood made it very clear that Babar Azam has every quality to be one of the greatest batters in Test cricket. Shan Masood pointed out that Babar Azam has played a lot of cricket and said that sometimes a batter need a break as well.
“I think he’s one of the best batters in the world. I’m nobody to [say he doesn’t have] a future. He has every quality to be one of the greatest batsmen in Test cricket. He’s always there or thereabouts in the rankings. Sometimes, people need a break,” said Shan Masood.
“I think this break will do him a great deal of benefit and he’ll come back a stronger player. There’s no harm in being pulled out at times and having a breather. He’s played a lot of cricket and gone through a lot, and he’ll always be one of the main batsmen to play for Pakistan,” he added.
Delight for Pakistan
The Men in Green showed to the World cricket that when they play to their potential then they can beat any team. Some might argue that Pakistan won Test series against England due to rank turners but we should not forget that England had a pretty strong batting line up comprising of skipper Ben Stokes & Joe Root who in the past have had success on turning tracks.
Jason Gillespie would be relieved as his first Test assignment was a forgettable one when the Bangladeshi Tigers gave a reality check to Pakistan and won the series by 2-0. With Pakistan out of ICC WTC 2023-25 final race, their next Test match series is against West Indies next year and would be hoping to continue the winning momentum in red ball cricket.