Controversy erupts: Babar Azam dropped despite fierce opposition from Shan Masood, Jason Gillespie

Pakistan National Cricket Team batter Babar Azam has been dropped from the Test squad for the last two games of the three-match series against the England National Cricket Team. This comes after the team faced a thrashing loss in the first game at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan.

Babar Azam was dropped from the team amid his poor run in Test cricket. The right-hander, who has been averaging under 21 since 2022, failed in the first game of the series against the England National Cricket Team. The right-hander bagged failures in both the innings of the game and received a lot of criticism.

Babar Azam scored 30 runs in the first innings in Multan. After that in the second innings, the right-hander bagged just 5 runs. What surprised many, it was a highway-like pitch in Multan, and he couldn't capitalize on the same, which was concerning.

Shan Masood and red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie weren't keen to snub Babar Azam

Babar, whose place in the team was under the scanner for a while, has now finally been dropped. The reports in Pakistan media claimed that the skipper Shan Masood and red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie weren't keen to snub him from the team. They even opposed the decision of the selection committee.

The reports claimed that the selection committee was stern on their stand that they wanted to rest Babar. They were of the opinion that the premier batter needs rest. They are eager to give Kamran Ghulam a chance in the team as they want to try young faces.

The newly configured selection panel comprises Aaqib Javed, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, former ICC umpire Aleem Dar, analyst Hassan Cheema, and the captain and head coach of the format for which the squad is being selected. While every other member was part of the meeting, neither Masood nor Gillespie was part of the selection committee meeting on Friday.

Not only Babar Azam but the senior players in Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Abrar Ahmed were also released from the squad

Not only Babar Azam but the senior players in Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Abrar Ahmed were also released from the squad. The Pakistan Cricket Board decided to include a fresh set of players for the last two Tests of the series against the England National Cricket Team.

Pakistan National Cricket Team have been having a torrid outing in Test cricket. They haven't been able to get going in the longest format of the game since the last few series. They recently faced a whitewash against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team as they lost both games of the series.

Pakistan faced an innings and 47 runs loss in the series opener

After that, they didn't have the kind of start to the Test series against England. They faced a massive innings and 47 runs loss in the series opener. What came as a surprise was, they faced an innings defeat after posting 556 runs with the bat in the first innings.

The second Test against England begins on October 15 in Multan. Pakistan National Cricket Team would be hoping to make a comeback and level the series.