[WATCH]: “That’s Pakistan Cricket Issue” – Ben Stokes On Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi And Naseem Shah’s Absence In The Second ENG-PAK Test

England captain Ben Stokes offered a surprisingly blunt perspective on Pakistan’s decision to exclude star players Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah for the second Test in Multan, starting October 15. Stokes, who has missed England’s last four Tests due to a hamstring injury, is set to return to lead the team.

Despite his absence, England convincingly defeated a struggling Pakistan side by an innings and 47 runs in the opening match. This marked Pakistan’s sixth consecutive Test loss, with half of those defeats occurring at home, including a shocking 0-2 loss to Bangladesh.

Consequently, Pakistan made significant changes to their squad for the second and third Tests, with the exclusion of the three star players becoming a major topic of discussion. When reporters inquired about this during the press conference before the second Test, Stokes replied candidly:

“Everything on that, that’s Pakistan cricket issue. Nothing to do with me.”

You can watch the video here:

"That's just a Pakistan Cricket Issue ": Ben Stokes regarding the absence of Babar, Shaheen & Naseem in the 2nd Test🗣#PakPassion #PAKvsENG pic.twitter.com/YNDbCR00hg

— PakPassion.net (@PakPassion) October 14, 2024

Babar managed just 35 runs in the first Test, extending his streak to 18 Test innings without a half-century, while Shaheen and Naseem had disappointing figures of 3/277 as England posted an impressive 823/7.

“Babar is our top player”- Azhar Mahmood

Amid questions about Babar Azam’s exclusion from the rest of the England series, Pakistan assistant coach Azhar Mahmood clarified that the star batter was not dropped but rather rested due to the demanding schedule.

The 29-year-old has struggled, averaging just 20.70 in Tests since the start of last year, with a highest score of only 41 in 17 innings. Discussing Babar’s absence from the squad during the pre-match press conference, Mahmood stated, as quoted by India Today:

“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.”

Mahmood also clarified that the pace-bowling pair of Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah have been rested rather than dropped, as part of their workload and injury management.

“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 had a few niggles and Shaheen was playing a lot of cricket. So we decided to rest him,” said Mahmood.

Pakistan has announced their XI for the second Test against England, with Kamran Ghulam likely stepping in for Babar at No. 4.

Pakistan XI for 2nd Test vs England

Abdullah Shafique, Salman Ali Agha, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Kamran Ghulam, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mehmood

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