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Speculation is rife that star batter Babar Azam may be not be considered for the India game after he was not seen at the practice session on Saturday evening.
Babar Azam Gives Pakistan’s Training Session A Miss, Playing XI Spot In Question (Picture credit: AP)
Star Pakistan batter Babar Azam missed out on Pakistan’s training session ahead of the marquee clash against India, raising doubts over his spot in the playing XI. His form and intent to score runs have already been in question over the last few months.
Rumours are rife that Babar might not be considered for the India game after he wasn’t seen at the practice session on Saturday, February 22. Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi attended the practice and Babar was the sole player who opted to take an off.
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Babar was immensely criticised for a 94-ball 64 in the 60-run defeat to New Zealand in the opening game. The India match is a do-or-die contest for the hosts, who are also the defending champions.
Interim head coach Aaqib Javed, who attended the post-practice press conference, didn’t give any specific reason for Babar’s absence, saying that the former skipper opted to rest.
According to a report in PTI, Naqvi requested skipper Mohammad Rizwan, Javed and the players to give it their best shot against arch-rivals India and win the game to ‘silence their critics, including himself’.
Naqvi told the press later that the Pakistan side was ready to face India and do well against them.
“It would be a great game and our team is fully prepared and in my opinion, they are in form. We are with our team, whether they win or lose,” Naqvi said.
Babar, while chasing a whopping 321-run target set by New Zealand in the opening game of the Champions Trophy, scored a 90-ball 64, as the target looked bigger with every passing ball.
Babar’s problems were compounded by the fact that he was opening with Saud Shakeel, who was replacing Fakhar Zaman who had to stay out for quite some time due to an injury.
Neither Shakeel nor Rizwan could get going with the bat and Babar too, was left helpless in the situation. Matters got worse when an injured Zaman came in, unable to run singles or convert ones into twos and a lot of runs were left on the field.
By the time Salman Agha came in and gave Pakistan’s innings some momentum, Babar had lost steam and the target remained faraway.
