Michael Vaughan: “Go 1 nil down in the series and decide to drop the best player in Babar Azam. I guess Pakistan cricket is full of surprises but this tops the lot… absolutely stupid decision… unless he has asked for a break”
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Former England captain Michael Vaughan has slammed Pakistan’s decision to drop Babar Azam during the recent three-Test series against England.
Ben Stokes: “That’s Pakistan’s cricket issue. Nothing to do with me”
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England captain Ben Stokes said he had nothing to with Pakistan removing Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah from their squad midway through the three-Test series.
Abdullah Shafique: “Saim [Ayub] scored two 50s in the last two Tests, if we’d dropped him after the first Test, I’ve had that happen to me; it’s not nice”
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Abdullah Shafique has admitted that it would not be nice to drop fellow opening batsman Saim Ayub after he has shown signs of improvement.
Shaheen Shah Afridi: “We need to give him some time”
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Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi has indicated that he doesn’t want batting sensation Saim Ayub discarded from the team following a string of subpar performances.
Shahid Afridi: “If you are talking about removing Babar as a player, then do you have someone like him? Do we have a player capable of replacing [Mohammad] Rizwan? [This] type of talk [is] done when you have a strong bench”
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Legendary Pakistan power-hitter Shahid Afridi doesn’t see anyone capable of replacing limited overs captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan.
Mohammad Hafeez: “This is not the right thing to even think to change [the] T20 captain of Pakistan”
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Former Pakistan team director and interim head coach Mohammad Hafeez had urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) not to even think of removing Shaheen Shah Afridi as T20I captain.
Ramiz Raja: “Let Mohammad Rizwan do the keeping, open with Rizwan and Babar as the opening pair, and then you can play an extra all-rounder instead of Azam Khan or a proper batsman. These are the things to do”
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Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja believes wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan should be dropped from the T20I team in favour of an additional all-rounder or a “proper batsman”.
Basit Ali: “Amir has a lot of experience but I haven’t kept him in my squad. If Haris Rauf is unfit, then the selection committee could opt for Amir”
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Former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali said he wouldn’t pick veteran left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir in the squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan big-hitter Azam Khan: “If you give me a long run and I don’t perform, I have no problem if Pakistan drop me”
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Pakistan big-hitting batsman Azam Khan wants a prolonged period to prove himself at the international level and confirmed that he is ready to be dropped if he fails to perform.
Junaid Khan: “Everyone is saying that Khurram Shahzad bowled outstandingly. No doubt, he bowled well, but, his biomechanic is not right. In the first innings, he was bowling 135 [kph] and in the second 130 [kph]”
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Pakistan left-arm seamer Junaid Khan believes fellow fast bowler Khurram Shahzad’s biomechanics are “not right” and pointed out how his pace dropped before he got injured during the three-match Test series against Australia.
