Pakistan will play the remainder of the ongoing Test series against England without Babar Azam. The top-order batter has been axed from the squad along with two other players– Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. Nasser Hussain thinks the absence of Babar will make England feel a bit more relaxed. In his column for Daily Mail, the former English captain hailed Babar as the “star batter” of the current Pakistan team. The cricketer-turned-pundit, however, admitted the ongoing lean patch of Babar, who has failed to score a Test half-century over the last 18 innings. “As for Pakistan, with their new selection panel, leaving out Babar Azam, I think England won’t mind that at all. He’s a bit out of nick at the moment, but guys like him generally find a way of scoring runs when the pressure’s on,” Hussain wrote.
“If I were in England’s shoes, I’d be pretty relaxed about turning up on Tuesday and finding a Pakistan team without their star batsman,” he added.
Babar Azam has been struggling to showcase his best form in Tests since 2023. The last time he was able to put up a significant performance was in December 2022. He struck 161 on the first Test against New Zealand in Karachi. Since then, Babar has amassed a total of 366 runs in the longest format at a poor average of 20.33.
The 29-year-old hoped to rediscover his form in the ongoing home series against England. He, however, failed miserably in the opening game. Babar scored only 35 runs across the two innings in the first Test which England won by an innings and 47 runs.
Nasser Hussain feels the Pakistan bowling unit is mostly responsible for the defeat in Multan. The hosts will need to show more composure in the next game to keep their hopes alive in the three-match series.
“The bottom line is that Pakistan simply have to play better this week. They didn’t look like taking 10 wickets in the first Test, let alone 20. The ball is in their court. We’re about to find out whether they’re good enough to stop England winning the series with a game to spare,” Hussain wrote on Daily Mail.
The second Test between Pakistan and England will begin on October 15 at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
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