'He Wanted To Play But…': PAK Coach Says Babar Azam Is 'Rested, Not Dropped' For Last 2 Tests Against England

Star batter and former captain Babar Azam will not be seen in action for Pakistan in the last two Tests of the ongoing three-match series against England. The 30-year-old right-handed batter was dropped from Pakistan’s squad announced for the last two Tests on Sunday. But while speaking to reporters on the eve of the second Test, Pakistan assistant coach Azhar Mahmood said that the star batter, who is celebrating his 30th birthday on Tuesday (October 15), is not dropped from the team but is rested for the remaining matches.

According to him, Babar was willing to play the matches, but the new selection committee wanted him to freshen up and take some rest. He added that Babar is still Pakistan’s No. 1 player, and the decision to rest him was made keeping the team’s future tours in mind.

“He (Babar) hasn’t been dropped. He has been rested. The management also understands that there has been a lot happening in the last few months. Mentally, even if you say you’re strong, it still goes on in the back of the mind. He was willing to play. But it was the decision for him and the Pakistan team to give him a rest so that he can come fresh. Because after this, we’re playing till April next year,” Mahmood told reporters on Monday.

“Babar is our No. 1 player. There is no question about that. His technique and ability. If you look at Pakistan’s FTP, there’s a lot of cricket coming up. So, because of that, the selection committee decided that this was the best time to give Babar a rest. After that, we have to go to Australia and Zimbabwe, and there is a South Africa tour as well. So that’s important,” he added.

Azhar said the same thing was done with pacers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi as well, and they are also rested, not dropped.

“If you look at the fast bowling, this was the third Test under new management. Before that, we were also struggling as we wanted to know how to get 20 wickets. So now we think we have more options with spin. There were also a few niggles. Naseem (Shah) had a few niggles, and Shaheen (Afridi) was playing a lot of cricket. So, we decided to rest him,” he said.