Babar Azam breaks his silence on Pakistan’s mid-series cricket shock and says it was news to me too

Pakistan captain Babar Azam and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi (Agency Image) Pakistan captain Babar Azam has broken his silence on the massive Pakistan Cricket Board shake-up midway through the series, revealing he was not consulted until after seven players were dropped and changes were made to the coaching set-up.The PCB made drastic changes after Pakistan suffered heavy defeats in the Test series against England, sending several established players home ahead of the final Test at Edgbaston.Speaking to reporters ahead of the 3rd Test match against England, Babar admitted that the development came as a surprise even to him.

“I was not consulted”

Babar made it clear that the decision to overhaul the team was taken solely by the PCB.“It was news to me too. I also came to know about it later. Since the PCB has taken the decision, they can explain it better,” Babar said at the pre-match press conference.The captain added that he was not involved in the decision to send back seven players or make changes to the coaching staff. The released players included Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Ali Usman and Awais Zafar.

He is fit to lead at Edgbaston

Amidst the confusion, Babar also confirmed that he is capable of leading Pakistan in the final Test. The captain missed training earlier in the week after suffering from a fever but recovered in time for the game at Edgbaston. Pakistan will now look to avoid a series whitewash while dealing with a drastically changed squad and continued uncertainty surrounding the team leadership.England Team: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root(c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith(w), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir, Sonny Baker, Sam Cook, Ollie PopePakistan Unit: Azan Awais, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Babar Azam(c), Saim Ayub, Saud Shakeel, Ghazi Ghori(w), Arafat Minhas, Ubaid Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Sajid Khan, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Razadul Bazal, Abdul Bazal, Abdullahigal