File photo of Babar Azam and Virat Kohli© Twitter
Pakistan Cricket Board has issued a show cause notice to its centrally contracted player Fakhar Zaman for an alleged breach of the players code of conduct. Fakhar had questioned the decision to exclude Babar Azam from the Pakistan squad for the second and third Test against England in a social media post on Sunday. Fakhar has been asked to submit his reply to the show cause notice by October 21 after the PCB informed him in a notice that he had committed a breach of his contract by criticising the board policies and selection.
“It's concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam. India didn't bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively.
"If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan has ever produced, it could send a deeply negative message across the team. There is still time to avoid pressing the panic button; we should focus on safeguarding our key players rather than undermining them," Fakhar wrote on X.
It's concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam. India didn't bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively. If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan…
— Fakhar Zaman (@FakharZamanLive) October 13, 2024
Pakistan managed to lose the first Test despite scoring 556 in the first innings.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has backed its decision to drop the star quartet, batter Babar Azam, former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, and star pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah from the squad for the remaining two Tests against England. On Sunday, the world of cricket was taken by surprise after Pakistan announced its decision to bring in youngsters in place of the established stars after enduring a historic defeat by an innings and 47 runs in the series opener.
The PCB stated that the decision to axe players from the squad has been made in the best interest of Pakistan's cricket, Geo News reported, citing The News.
A PCB spokesperson backed the board's decision by stating that the players were "spared from the team to give them rest so that they can come back afresh".
The decision came after the PCB announced the decision of reconstituting the men's selection committee. Aleem Dar, Aaqib Javed, Azhar Ali and Hassan Cheema were appointed as the new members of the selection committee.
With ANI inputs