All posts tagged: Babar Azam dropped

Mark Butcher slams Pak’s obsession, hails Gambhir’s India after T20 World Cup win

Mark Butcher slams Pak’s obsession, hails Gambhir’s India after T20 World Cup win

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Mar 10, 2026 05:59 PM IST Former England cricketer Mark Butcher praised India after their T20 World Cup 2026 triumph while also criticising Pakistan for being stuck in an obsession with personal milestones over team gains. Butcher said other teams could learn from India’s move away from relying on “individual superstars” for success. “There’s quite a stark contrast there in the way that their neighbours from the north (west) in Pakistan are still stuck in the idea of personal milestones and individual superstars. Gautam Gambhir, who’s had his detractors over his time in charge, has basically walked away from that mantra and has built a team,” Butcher told Wisden. Indian coach Gautam Gambhir had also emphasised his views on getting the results and not running behind milestones. After India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs in the T20 World Cup 2026 final in Ahmedabad on Sunday for their third T20 title, Gambhir said, “For too long in Indian cricket, we’ve spoken about milestones, and I hope, till I’m there, we’re not going …

Pakistan coach Mike Hesson says excluding Babar Azam, Saim Ayub is about building for 2027 ODI World Cup

Pakistan coach Mike Hesson says excluding Babar Azam, Saim Ayub is about building for 2027 ODI World Cup

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Mar 9, 2026 10:20 PM IST Days after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made a bold move by dropping big names like Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, and Naseem Shah from the ODI series against Bangladesh, Pakistan’s white-ball coach Mike Hesson said that the exclusion of these senior players should not be considered as punishment for non-performance in the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. “I wouldn’t say anyone was dropped. We just see this series as an opportunity to give these promising players a chance to prove themselves,” Hesson was quoted as saying by PTI. Hesson insisted that Pakistan have had scant opportunities to test young, promising talent. He said with the ODI World Cup scheduled for next year, they wanted to see how these players respond. “Sahabzada Farhan has forced himself into the ODI squad because of his exceptional performances in T20s, and young players like Shamyl Hussain or Maaz Sadaqat have been doing well in domestic cricket and junior sides. The series will …

Babar Azam dropped from Pakistan’s ODI squad for Bangladesh tour | Cricket News

Babar Azam dropped from Pakistan’s ODI squad for Bangladesh tour | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 4, 2026 09:46 PM IST After an underwhelming T20 World Cup, Pakistan cricket management have decided to drop star batter Babar Azam from the side that will tour Bangladesh for a three-match series from next week. Babar had scored a century in the last series Pakistan cricket team played in the One Day International format—a 102 against Sri Lanka in November—but faced the axe when the 15-member squad was named. Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has been handed the captaincy of the side for the three-match series while ⁠six uncapped players have been called up, including Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Saad Masood ⁠and ‌Shamyl Hussain who played against the England Lions ‌in Abu Dhabi before the series was called off due ‌to the conflict in the Middle East. Pakistan cricketers were reportedly fined $18,000 each after the team’s failure to reach the T20 World Cup semifinals. Besides Pakistan coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Ali Agha, Babar also came under withering criticism during the T20 World Cup where Pakistan failed to reach …

Shan Masood on out-of-form Babar Azam: ‘There’s no harm in being pulled out at times and having a breather’ | Cricket News

Shan Masood on out-of-form Babar Azam: ‘There’s no harm in being pulled out at times and having a breather’ | Cricket News

Published by Webster

Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood believes that a break from the game will benefit the “out-of-form” Babar Azam, who was recently dropped from Pakistan’s Test squad. The former Pakistan captain was omitted after the first Test against England but is set to make a comeback in the white-ball series against Australia. “I think he’s one of the best batsmen in the world. I’m nobody to deny him a future. He has every quality to be one of the greatest batsmen in Test cricket,” Shan said on the BBC’s Stumped podcast. “He’s always near the top in the rankings. Sometimes, people just need a break. Personally, I think this break will benefit him greatly, and he’ll come back a stronger player. “There’s no harm in being pulled out at times and having a breather. He’s played a lot of cricket, gone through a lot, and he’ll always be one of Pakistan’s key batsmen.” Pakistan’s next Test assignment is a two-match series against South Africa in December. The scrutiny around Babar Azam’s form has intensified with each …

Ramiz Raja says dropping Babar Azam was a knee-jerk reaction

Ramiz Raja says dropping Babar Azam was a knee-jerk reaction

Published by Parlour News

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja maintained that dropping Babar Azam in the middle of the series was a “knee-jerk” reaction from the management and feels the slump in his batting form is not because of his technique but is more to do with his mental side. “He (Babar Azam) should have been asked whether he needed time off from cricket or not,” Raja told reporters during a select media interaction ahead of Pakistan’s white-ball tour of Australia. “Obviously, his form wasn’t great, but even then, I mean, his body of work suggests that there should have been a much better way of easing him out from a Test series. So it was probably a knee-jerk reaction, but I’m sure that he’ll come back as a stronger individual. “This is probably the first time that he’s been dropped in his career, and he will be eager to prove his point. So let’s see how the comeback is or whether he is inspired, whether he has changed his technique, and how motivated he is …

Sehwag on Babar Azam: ‘Decreasing expectations seem to have mentally impacted him’ | Cricket News

Sehwag on Babar Azam: ‘Decreasing expectations seem to have mentally impacted him’ | Cricket News

Published by Webster

Babar Azam’s batting slump and exclusion from Pakistan’s Test set-up have stemmed from decreasing expectations after losing captaincy, remarked former India opener Virender Sehwag. Babar’s dwindling red-ball returns co-incided with him being ‘rested’ alongwith senior pacers Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah. Though the trio were considered central to Pakistan’s plans to stall a string of Test defeats, Pakistan opted for a complete overhaul after their heavy defeat to England in the first Test in Multan. After shoring up the squad with spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali besides uncapped batter Kamran Ghulam replacing Babar, Pakistan made a remarkable turnaround in the second Test, securing a 152-run win to level the series. Sehwag who recorded over 8000 runs in both Tests and ODIs for India, said that Babar will have to reinvent himself by returning to the domestic grind. “Babar Azam should play domestic cricket now. He should work on his fitness, spend some time with family, then come back to international cricket as a physically fitter and mentally stronger player,” Sehwag said on former Pakistan speedster …

Shan Masood on out-of-form Babar Azam: ‘There’s no harm in being pulled out at times and having a breather’ | Cricket News

In ‘urgency to bounce back in the series’, Pakistan drop Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah against England | Cricket News

Published by Webster

Ahead of the second Test against England, Pakistan have dropped former captain Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Sarfaraz Ahmed from the squad for the remaining two matches in the series. Additionally, spinner Abrar Ahmed has also been ruled out after being diagnosed with dengue. Addressing the move, Aaqib Javed from the selection panel stated, “Selecting the squad for the upcoming Tests against England has been a challenging task for the selectors. We’ve had to carefully consider current player form, the urgency to bounce back in the series and Pakistan’s demanding 2024-25 international schedule. “We are confident that this break from international cricket will help these players regain their fitness, confidence and composure, ensuring they return in top shape for future challenges. They remain some of our finest talents with much more to contribute to Pakistan cricket. We are fully committed to supporting them during this period so they can come back even stronger,” he added. As replacement for the players being dropped, Pakistan have added three uncapped players – Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz …