It has been reported that skipper Babar Azam is down with fever. The update emerges amid a chaotic situation in the Pakistan team that saw the board deciding to sack as many as seven players from the squad, while also replacing head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul . As the Pakistan cricket team desperately looks to avoid a clean sweep against England, having already gone 0-2 down, the management has a fresh headache to handle ahead of the third Test.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam is down with a fever amid chaos in the team caused by the PCB’s mass sackings ahead of the third Test against England.
Pakistan’s team manager Naveed Akram Cheema confirmed to Geo News that while Babar was suffering from fever, there is no need to panic as he stays fit overall, with a quick recovery expected. The five uncapped players added to the squad are Arafat Minhas , Mohammad Imran Jnr , Saad Baig , Mohammad Imran Randhawa and Razaullah . Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke , who are part of Pakistan’s white-ball coaching set-up as head coach and bowling coach respectively, have also joined the Test coaching staff, the report added.
The Pakistan skipper missed the first Test due to injury, with Salman Ali Agha taking the captaincy armband. Babar scored just eight and six at Lord’s as Pakistan fell to a loss by 194 runs. Babar had a solid tour of the West Indies with the bat, scoring 193 runs in two matches, including two fifties as Pakistan drew the series 1-1, with Babar’s re-appointment as Test captain getting a mixed bag start. Pakistan have brought in five uncapped players along with Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal , who have a combined experience of just 10 matches.
Earlier, former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq offered his resignation from the Pakistan men’s national selection committee following the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to make major changes to the Test squad and coaching staff during the ongoing tour of England.
