Pakistan cricket has rarely arrived at a Test match with this much happening away from the field. Two crushing defeats against England, seven players sent home midway through the tour, the head coach and his assistant removed, and now a PCB disciplinary inquiry have turned the build-up to the third Test at Edgbaston into something far bigger than simply avoiding a 3-0 whitewash.
England won the opening Test at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs before hammering Pakistan by 194 runs at Lord’s to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. What followed was an extraordinary overhaul, with seven players released from the touring squad and Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul replaced on the coaching staff by Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke. The PCB subsequently confirmed that it had also launched an internal inquiry concerning reports about player “discipline and conduct”.
At the centre of all this is captainBabar Azam, who missed the Headingley Test through injury before returning at Lord’s. His comeback did not go according to plan either: Babar managed only eight in Pakistan’s first innings and six in the second as his side suffered another comprehensive defeat.
Asked whether he was aware that major changes
Asked whether he was aware that major changes were coming after the second Test, and whether he had been involved in making them, Babar said: “I was not consulted. It was news to me as well. I only found out about all these things later. PCB made the decisions, so they can explain it to you better.”
The Pakistan captain was then asked how difficult it had been to deal with a week in which seven players and members of the coaching staff had been sent home. “Not difficult, but surprising,” Babar replied. When the question was put to him directly again — whether he had been involved in any of the decisions, including the call to send players back to Pakistan — his answer was even shorter. “No.”
Babar Azam hits back over questions on his performance
The interaction became sharper when Babar’s own contribution as captain and batter came under scrutiny. Responding to a question about his performances, Babar pointed towards Pakistan’s immediately preceding Test assignment in the Caribbean. “If you talk about my performance, I guess I was the man of the series againstWest Indiesas Captain,” Babar said.
There was substance behind the reminder
There was substance behind the reminder. Babar finished the two-Test West Indies series as its leading run-scorer, accumulating 193 runs in four innings at an average of 96.50.Pakistan lost the opening Test but bounced back to win the second by eight wickets and draw the series 1-1, with Babar receiving the Player of the Series award.
That form has not carried into England so far, although Babar has effectively played only one Test in the series after missing the Headingley defeat through injury. His scores of eight and six at Lord’s inevitably intensified scrutiny ahead of the final Test. Babar was also questioned about the PCB’s newly announced disciplinary inquiry, but once again maintained that he knew nothing about what the board was investigating. “No, I have no idea,” he said.
The answers leave an unusual picture ahead of the Edgbaston Test. Pakistan’s captain says he was unaware of the decisions to remove seven members of his squad, was not consulted over them and does not know what the disciplinary investigation surrounding the touring party concerns. What Babar does know — and was quick to remind his questioner — is that only a few weeks ago he had finished as Pakistan’s best batter and Player of the Series in the Caribbean. Now, with Pakistan 0-2 down and turmoil surrounding the team, the final Test gives him the chance to provide his response on the field.
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