Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued a show cause notice to Pakistan cricketer Fakhar Zaman for his social media post questioning Babar Azam's exclusion from the Pakistan squad for the second and third Test match against England.
As per PTI, he received a notice for alleged breach of the players code of conduct. 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.
Pakistan faced a humiliating loss in the first Test match against England despite scoring more than 500 runs in the first inning. Shan Masood-led Pakistan become the first-ever team to lose a Test match after scoring more than 550 run in the first inning.
Babar Azam is currently going through a rough patch of his career. He last smashed a Test century against New Zealand in 2022 at the National Stadium in Karachi.
Pakistan vs England second Test match will be played at Multan Cricket Stadium Multan on the same pitch. Both Pakistan and England have already announced their playing XI for the second Test match.
Pakistan vs England playing XIs
Pakistan playing XI: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, and Zahid Mehmood
England's playing XI: Zak Crawley, ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir
