Ramiz Raja: “It should have been Babar’s call whether he wanted time out of the playing XI or not. It was a kneejerk reaction, new selectors in. The general opinion was he needed rest and he was taken out of the squad completely”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja it should have been Babar Azam’s choice to decide whether he wanted to be rested during the recent three-Test series against England.
Azam featured in the first Test of the series, scoring 30 and 5 as the men in green lost by an innings and 47 runs.
The 30-year-old was subsequently removed from the squad for the second and third Tests, prompting almost everyone to speculate that he had been dropped.
Pakistan assistant coach Azhar Mahmood insisted that this was not the case, stating Azam had merely been rested due to the team’s busy schedule.
However, Ramiz reiterated that Azam should have been given the option to say whether he wanted time off in the midst of the England series.
“It should have been Babar’s call whether he wanted time out of the playing XI or not. It was a kneejerk reaction, new selectors in. The general opinion was he needed rest and he was taken out of the squad completely,” he said on Sky Sports as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan ended up beating England 2-1 to claim their first Test series win on home soil since 2021.
The men in green are now taking on Australia in a limited overs series that consists of three ODIs and three T20Is.
In the ODIs, Azam accumulated 80 runs at an average of 80 as Pakistan triumphed 2-1, which gave them their first ODI series win in Australia since 2002.
Following the ongoing series against Australia, Pakistan will tour Zimbabwe and play three ODIs and three T20Is from November 24 to December 5.
Pakistan Squad for Australia ODI Series:Â Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan Squad for Australia T20I Series:Â Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe ODI Series:Â Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe T20I Series:Â Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan