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Pakistan cricket team saw it coming but lacked the quality to prevent themselves from being whitewashed at the hands of the England national cricket team. Coming fresh out of the setback, captain Babar Azam faced a supremely difficult question at the presentation ceremony. Former cricketer Michael Atherton raised a question about Babar Azam's commitment to the captaincy of Pakistan's Test team.
The 0-3 defeat against England marks the lowest point in Pakistan cricket. In six innings of three matches, there was only one instance when the Men in Green edged past the 200-run mark. As the captain of the team, Babar Azam had to face those sharp questions from the former England captain. But maybe no one imagined one of those questions to be a double-bladed sword.
Michael Atherton's sharp question to Babar Azam
At the presentation ceremony in Birmingham, the former England captain, Michael Atherton, asked Babar, 'And you, as captain, are you committed to that?'
In response, Babar Azam said that he is obviously committed to the leadership role of the national cricket team; it was the conditions in England that made things very challenging for the batters. For the Pakistan national cricket team, he and the other players of the team tried to show their best, but that did not reflect on the ground in any of those three matches against England.
Babar Azam hinted about some changes in the Pakistan Test team
Babar said that they need to sit down to find out the mistakes they made in the three-match Test series. Through the meeting, decisions on the playing eleven and decisions on their players also need to be taken to improve their game in the future.
From the comments of the captain, it is clear that the Pakistan team management could make some shuffles again in the Test squad and the playing eleven. After the second Test match of the series, the cricket board snubbed seven players from the squad, and sacked Sarfaraz Ahmed and his assistant Umar Gul from the Test team.
"Yes, but when you're coming to different series, you try to do your best, and you decide what type of cricket to play in different conditions. I think these conditions are difficult, but I think we try to get all the new boys to utilise their talent."
"In return, I think we need to sit down and review our mistakes, decide what type of playing eleven, and decide our players. I think they are sitting, and the manager is coming, the selector is coming, and it's back, and then we decide our best eleven," Babar Azam said.
Razaullah is likely to stay in Pakistan's Test team
The skipper also hinted that the young fast-bowling all-rounder Razaullah is likely to stay with the Test team, as the teenager impressed with his pace and with his explosive batting skills.
"We enjoyed it. I think everyone is enjoying his innings and bowling, and he is a very good talent and raw. I think he's good for us," he added.
