Mohammad Yousuf on Babar Azam: “The moment I suggested resting Babar, everyone suddenly turned against me. I had to resign because of this”
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Former Pakistan batter Mohammad Yousuf has revealed that he was forced to resign as a national selector after suggesting that Babar Azam be rested.
Yousuf noted that Azam had been struggling for some time, but attributed the dip more to technical issues than a loss of form.
He added that after making the suggestion, “everyone suddenly turned against me”, leaving him with no choice but to step down, even though Azam was dropped a couple of series later.
“I’ve been saying this for 2-3 years that Babar’s technique has gone for a toss. I’ve been hearing that he is out of form, but he is not. A player can only be out-of-form for two to three series and he has not scored runs for the past two-three years. The moment I suggested resting Babar, everyone suddenly turned against me. I had to resign because of this. He was eventually dropped a couple of series later,” Yousuf said on the How Does It Work? podcast as quoted by NDTV.
Lately, Azam has shown signs of getting back into form as he was the highest run-scorer in the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL) while captaining the Peshawar Zalmi. The 31-year-old helped his side lift the trophy after scoring 588 runs in 11 matches, which included two centuries and three fifties, at an average of 73.50 and a strike-rate of 145.90.
Azam was back in Pakistan colours after PSL 11 and kicked things off with 115 runs in one Test against Bangladesh, which included a top score of 68, at an average of 57.50.
Next came three ODIs against Australia, where he amassed 125 runs, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 41.66.
Having been reappointed as Pakistan’s Test captain, Azam will lead the national team in their two-Test series against the West Indies, which will take place in Trinidad and Tobago from July 25 to August 6.
After that, the men in green will face England in a three-Test series from August 19 to September 13.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
Pakistan Squad for England Test series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah