Confusion prevails over Babar Azam’s exclusion from Bangladesh tour

Karachi: Confusion prevails in Pakistan cricket over the exact reasons behind Babar Azam’s exclusion from the three-match ODI series in Bangladesh, which the visitors lost 1-2 with a narrow defeat in final match.

The confusion has been created by one of the selectors, head coach Mike Hesson and Babar himself, amid the debate if the former captain and star batter should have been excluded form the tour or not.

The PCB initially announced the squad for the Bangladesh tour without mentioning if Babar and some other seniors were dropped or rested.

Last Saturday, senior selector Aaqib Javed told the media that the selectors were conveyed that Babar and Fakhar Zaman were injured after the T20 World Cup.

“It is a surprise for us and we have asked the PCB to probe into the matter and find out how they got injured after the World Cup and whether they played in the tournament fully fit or not,” Javed said.

However, a day later, Babar posted pictures of himself on social media in which he appeared to be sarcastically questioning Javed's take on his fitness.

Later in the day after Pakistan lost the third and final ODI in Dhaka, head coach Mike Hesson came out with a new version saying Pakistan had rested senior players including Babar to give a chance to youngsters.

Pakistan took four uncapped rookies for the ODI series including Maaz Sadaqat, Shamyl Hussain, Ghazi Ghori and Saad Masood while Sahibzada Farhan and Abdul Samad also made their ODI debuts in the series.

The team management tried out all four rookies in the series besides Farhan and Samad, and Hesson expressed satisfaction over the performance of the new faces insisting they had shown that they could stay in international cricket.

A few former Pakistan players and even fans on social media have now urged the PCB to explain the rationale behind Babar’s exclusion.

A few former players have even blamed Javed, also the head of the high performance centre, for having a personal grouse with Babar.