The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sent a show cause notice to Fakhar Zaman for his remarks against PCB’s decision to leave Babar Azam out of the Test squad for the series against England. On social media, Fakhar criticised the PCB for benching a star player in the team during tough times and compared it to how India treated Virat Kohli from 2020 to 2023.
Fakhar claimed in his post, “It’s concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam... If we are thinking of benching our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan has ever produced, it could send a very wrong signal across the dressing room." He stressed the point of backing up players instead of discouraging them and said that such decisions could cause chaos in the team atmosphere.
The PCB's notice requires Fakhar to respond by October 21, stating that his comments violate the players’ code of conduct by targeting board policies and selection. This came after Pakistan had a poor show in the first Test against England, where they were bowled out for 556 in the first innings but still lost by an innings and 47 runs.
In other news, PCB has recently revamped its men’s selection committee and also decided to give some top players a break, which include Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi, among others. This decision was presented in the garb of doing justice to Pakistan cricket and to give the players a good break to prepare for more challenges. This change was prompted by the form of current players and the schedules of the teams in the near future, according to Aaqib Javed, a member of the selection committee.
As Pakistan prepares for the second Test against England, the focus will be on how these internal dynamics affect team morale and performance on the field.
