"Not our problem": Ben Stokes' blunt take on Babar Azam's Test snub

England Test skipper Ben Stokes has shared his no-nonsense verdict on the exclusion of the superstar batsman Babar Azam from the Pakistan squad for the remainder of the PAK vs ENG Test series.

Babar Azam is going through a tough time in his cricket career as he has failed to do well across formats. In the first Test against England on a highway-like pitch, Babar Azam scored just 30 and 5 runs. That served as the final nail in the coffin as the PCB decided to leave him out of the squad for the second and third Tests.

That's just a Pakistan Cricket issue, nothing to do with me - Ben Stokes

Along with Babar Azam, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) dropped Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Sarfaraz Ahmed from the squad. England skipper Ben Stokes attended the press conference ahead of the second Test in Multan and he was asked about the removal of Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah from the squad.

Ben Stokes was quite blunt in his response, as he said that it is the issue of the Pakistan Cricket and has nothing to do with him.

"Yeah, just everything on that. That's just a Pakistan Cricket issue, nothing to do with me."

"That's just a Pakistan Cricket Issue ": Ben Stokes regarding the absence of Babar, Shaheen & Naseem in the 2nd Test🗣#PakPassion #PAKvsENG pic.twitter.com/YNDbCR00hg

— PakPassion.net (@PakPassion) October 14, 2024

Talking specifically about Babar Azam, Stokes said that the right-handed batter plays for Pakistan and his absence is not the problem of the English team. He said:

"Babar Azam plays for Pakistan. It is not our problem."

Stokes Replied on Babar azam exclusion pic.twitter.com/tEt6gnNGfM

— Shah (@ipagshah00) October 14, 2024

It’s the first time ever that I’ve played on a used wicket in a Test series back to back - Ben Stokes

The England skipper also talked about Pakistan re-using the pitch at Multan Cricket Stadium for the second Test. He said:

"It’s the first time ever that I’ve played on a used wicket in a Test series back to back. You’d like to think it will offer the spinners a bit more than last week. With a slightly drier square, you might see a bit more reverse swing to bring the seamers into the game.”

While talking about England's philosophy in Test cricket, Ben Stokes said that they want to ensure that there is a result in the match and are ready to do everything required to achieve their goal. He elaborated:

"So we always try and play to make sure that there is a result. Sometimes there will be moments in games where you might have to do something a little bit out of the ordinary to try and keep the game alive so that both teams have a chance of winning. That's how, with me being captain and Baz being coach, that's how we both view cricket, is that there should be a winner.

"You look at that first Test on our last tour, we risked losing that game in the pursuit of winning. That's how we will always play our cricket."

It was a great game and Brook and Root were not out - Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes added that in the first Test of the series against Pakistan, they were very clear that they had scored big to put pressure on Pakistan, and Harry Brook (317) and Joe Root (262) did exactly that. Ben Stokes stated:

"Whereas last week, that wasn't really the case. We knew what we had to do. We had the bat in our hand at the end of day three. It was a great game and Brook and Root were not out.

"There was still a lot of work to be done. We knew that we had to keep batting andbbatting and get a lot of runs past their score to put way more pressure on Pakistan when it came to their turn with the bat. If we'd only managed to get a 100-150 run lead, it makes it a lot easier for Pakistan to go out there and play in a certain way because it gives them a chance to declare and then put the pressure and responsibility back onto us."

Ben Stokes also showered rich praise on the English bowling unit for the way they bowled in the first innings despite getting no help from the surface and playing a key role in the dominant victory. The England skipper Ben Stokes said:

"We knew that if we went big like we did, there was only going to be one winner. It could have been a draw, but you look at how many overs we left ourselves in the game. To bowl them out, we knew that we'd left more than enough.

"If Pakistan were able to block out 130 overs or play 130 overs, then fair enough. I thought the way in which we bowled in the first innings actually set the game up for us. It was incredibly flat and we found ways of taking 10 wickets on a wicket.

"That was the easiest time to bat. There was no spin, no seam, no swing. We had to go through so many different plans, which I thought Popey did a great job at.

"You can look at it as if there was a Pakistan collapse, but I just thought we were outstanding with the ball in the first innings, which really set the game up for us to be able to do what we did with the ball in the fourth innings."