PCB declares Babar Azam ‘best batsman of his generation’ amid heavy backlash over his ouster

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has broken its silence on the removal of the superstar batsman Babar Azam from the Test squad for the last two matches of the three-game series against the England National Cricket Team.

Cricket fans and experts were left absolutely shocked when the Pakistan Cricket Board unveiled the squad for the second and third Tests against England because four star players were dropped from the team.

Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Sarfaraz Ahmed Dropped

Babar Azam, who is currently going through a lean patch, was released along with the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed. Also, the superstar pacers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were not included in the squad for the matches.

In the official media release during the squad announcement, PCB stated that they have rested the star players to give them time to work on fitness, confidence, and composure in order to make a great comeback.

From the statement of PCB, it was clear that there is a lot of chaos in Pakistan cricket, and fans felt that Babar, Shaheen, Naseem, and Sarfaraz were actually dropped despite the board mentioning that they were rested.

The PCB came under fire for the bold move, and the likes of Fakhar Zaman and Tanvir Ahmed, as well as several experts and former cricketers, lashed out at the cricket board.

Babar Azam has been spared from the team to give them rest so that they can come back afresh - PCB

Later, in an official media release, an unnamed PCB spokesman once again mentioned that Babar has been rested and even labeled him as the “best batsman of his generation” in a damage control measure.

“The Pakistan Cricket Board has said that four top players, including former captain Babar Azam, have been spared from the team to give them rest so that they can come back afresh,” read the statement of the spokesperson.

“Babar Azam is the best batsman of his generation and the PCB wants a mentally refreshed Babar to represent the Pakistan side in future,” he added.

Pakistan Squad Selection For England Tests Was Challenging

The PCB spokesman also stated that “selecting the squad for the upcoming Tests against England has been a challenging task for the selectors". Also, the selection committee carefully considered the form of the players while picking the squad for the second and third Tests.

Meanwhile, Babar, Shaheen, Naseem, and Sarfaraz have been replaced by Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, Kamran Ghulam, and Mohammad Ali in the squad. Another major name missing from the squad was Abrar Ahmed, who is down with dengue. He was replaced by Sajid Khan and Noman Ali along with Zahid Mahmood returned to the side.

Notably, the Pakistan Cricket Board was forced to make bold calls due to the poor performance of the players in the last three home Tests. The Men In Green had faced a whitewash at the hands of Bangladesh in the two-match Test series.

Also, they lost the first Test against England by an innings and 47 runs in an embarrassing fashion. Shan Masood is currently on a 6-match losing streak as a captain, and there are reports of him being sacked after the series against England.