Babar Azam's to be dropped after being named in Pakistan squad for Australia? Legend revolts

Legendary Indian cricketer Zaheer Abbas said that struggling Babar Azam should be dropped from the team ahead of Pakistan’s white-ball tour of Australia next month. The former Pakistan captain has been struggling to deliver across the formats for a long time now.

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 batter returned to the Pakistan cricket team.

Zaheer Abbas suggests Babar Azam needs a domestic reset before a comeback

Babar Azam has been named in the white-ball squads for Australia and Zimbabwe tours. However, Zaheer Abbas has called for Babar Azam to step back into domestic cricket to regain his form after a challenging period in his career.

The star batter has not scored an international century since his remarkable 151 against Nepal in the Asia Cup on August 30, 2023, and due to which he 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 batter has emphasized that even the best players experience tough patches, and using domestic matches to rebuild confidence could be the key to Babar’s resurgence.

You should be dropped if you are not scoring: Zaheer Abbas

Zaheer Abbas was quoted as saying by Sports Tak: “Sometimes they have a bad patch. It happens. It happens. But if you are not scoring runs, it's better that you should be dropped and come back after playing good matches in domestic cricket.”

Meanwhile, Babar Azam recently stepped down from Pakistan’s ODI and T20I captaincy, and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named Mohammad Rizwan the new white-ball captain who will begin his journey with the upcoming ODI series in Australia, starting on November 4.

On the other hand, the shocking resignation of Gary Kirsten as white-ball head coach of the Pakistan cricket team has stunned the entire cricket world, and now new revelations claim that the contentious debate over Babar Azam 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 that Babar needed to have game time to adapt to the conditions ahead of the crucial Test series against South Africa.

Kirsten precisely planned for the Champions Trophy 2025 and the tours of Australia and Zimbabwe, but the Proteas Great was left disappointed with the selection committee making significant changes to the squads. Following Pakistan's first Test against England, the PCB overhauled the selection committee, bringing in Aaqib Javed, Aleem Dar, and Azhar Ali.

While doing so, the PCB stripped off all the powers from the coach and captain which didn’t go down well with Kirsten, as he was promised to have authority in team selection when he took on the role. He eventually decided to part ways with the PCB even without guiding the team in an ODI match since his appointment.