Last Updated on 36 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has revealed that the extensive changes made to the Test squad after the defeat at Lord’s were done without his knowledge, input, or approval.
Pakistan lost by 194 runs at Lord’s, before the Pakistan Cricket Board responded with a major shake-up of the side. Seven players were removed from the squad, and head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were also asked to leave.
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Ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston, the squad saw seven new players. Five of the new faces have yet to play a Test for Pakistan. Speaking at the pre-Test press conference, Babar said he was surprised by the decisions. He also said he had no hand in the process that led to the changes.
“It was news to me,” Babar said in the pre-match press conference. “I learned later. The PCB made the decision so they will be able to explain better.”
But Babar shrugged off suggestions that the week had been made tough for him by the sudden changes. Instead he described the arrival of the new players as a golden opportunity for them to make an impact on the Pakistan team.
Babar Azam on squad changes: “The series is lost but we have nothing to lose”
Speaking more about the upcoming Test match, Babar said, “We should play freely and believe in ourselves as a team. We’ve practiced a couple of days and explained things to the new boys. Any young player who comes in is excited, and that excitement is visible. I believe that will be visible in the match, too.”
Babar Azam on his team’s performance in the last two matches said, “We didn’t play well in all three facets as a team. And when you don’t get results, then you’ll get plenty of criticism from outside. But we did what thought was best at the time. The way we read the pitch and conditions, the XIs we went with were what we thought was best at the time. But we did not get the results or performance we expect of ourselves.
“Whenever you go into a series or tournament, you back yourself to perform,” he continued. “As a senior player, you have to take on more responsibility. I firmly believe you need to grab opportunities and perform in difficult conditions. That’s why we play cricket, because we have to perform and dominate in difficult conditions. We need to forget about past failures and shift focus to the future.”
While the series is gone for Pakistan, victory in the third Test will serve as a huge confidence boost in what has been a very difficult period.
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