File image of Babar Azam.© AFP
Former cricketer Basit Ali rooted for Babar Azam to return to the Pakistan setup after being dropped from the squad for the second and third home Tests against England. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reconstituted the new selection committee an hour after Pakistan's historic loss by innings and 47 runs in the opening Test, the star quartet featuring Babar, former captain Sarfraz Ahmed and speedsters Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were left out of the team.
Babar's exclusion came as a surprise to many, and left former cricketers and fan bases sharing different opinions about the decision.
But some experts and analysts expected the decision to be made on the back of Babar's struggle to score a fifty for the past 18 Test innings.
With Babar's replacement, Kamran Ghulam made a name for himself with a century on his Test debut, the 30-year-old's return to the squad further became a heated topic for discussion.
But Basit backed the former captain to return to the team and believes that Babar's once again featuring imminent after the conclusion of the two Tests.
"He still has a place in the team. He will return to the team after two Test matches," Basit said on his YouTube channel.
Apart from Babar being dropped from the squad, his successor in the white-ball captaincy remains another matter that the PCB needs to resolve.
Babar's decision came days before Pakistan's three Tests against England, which began in Multan. According to the rumour mill and various reports, a couple of names have entered the fray for the vacant position.
But Basit believes there are only two candidates suited for the role, "Mohammad Rizwan or Salman Agha will be the next white-ball captain."
According to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Babar's decision to step down from captaincy reflected his desire "to focus more on making a greater impact as a player."
During his first stint as Pakistan skipper, which began in 2019, he guided the Men in Green to the T20 World Cup semi-finals and final in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
However, after a promising string of results, Pakistan started to slump across all formats. Last year, Pakistan was knocked out of the Asia Cup in the Super Four stage. The downfall continued after Pakistan returned home from the group stage of the ODI World Cup 2023 in India.
He decided to step down from the captaincy, with Shaheen Shah Afridi named his successor. Babar's second stint began after the PCB decided to reinstate him as the skipper, months before the T20 World Cup 2024.
Pakistan failed to qualify from Group A after enduring defeats against the USA and arch-rival India. After a poor string of results in his second stint, Babar eventually decided to drop the burden of captaincy from his shoulders once again.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)