Babar Azam
England won the Lord’s Test by 194 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Michael Atherton has questioned the authority of Babar Azam and the role Pakistan ’s captains are allowed to play after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made sweeping changes to the Test squad midway through the England series. Pakistan suffered defeats in the opening two Tests and responded by sending seven players home. Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha and Imam-ul-Haq were among those removed from the squad, while coaches Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul were also asked to leave.
Babar reclaimed Pakistan’s Test captaincy from Shan Masood earlier this year after Bangladesh defeated Pakistan in their two-match series.
Mike Hesson will now take charge of the team for the third and final Test at Edgbaston, beginning on September 9.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif had already argued that Babar should have resigned after the seven players were sent home, while also branding him a “dummy captain”. “One understands that the captain is not all-powerful these days, you’re not going back 30 years ago when they perhaps ran the show, but they have to have some authority within a team,” said Atherton. The scale of the changes has placed Babar under increasing scrutiny. He acknowledged that modern-day captains do not have the same control they once enjoyed, but insisted that a captain still needs to have a meaningful say in the team’s affairs.
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