After Fakhar Zaman expressed his support for Babar Azam, the opening batsman was issued a show-cause notice by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). While his thoughts have been lauded by Basit Ali, the former Pakistan batsman also cautioned Zaman about the consequences he might face.
Former captain Babar was dropped from the Test squad after another failure in the team’s defeat in the first match of the three-Test home series against England.
Pakistan scored over 500 runs in their first innings at Multan but still went on to lose the match by an innings and 47 runs. The defeat led to the exclusion of Babar, wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed and fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah from the squad for the second and third Test.
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Talking about the development on his YouTube channel, Basit said: “Fakhar Zaman has been served show-cause notice, which means that coming days are not going to be good for him because of the mafia that sits in the PCB.”
The 53-year-old former batsman went on to advise Zaman. “I think Fakhar should talk to chairman Mohsin Naqvi. Otherwise, these guys will create problems for him,” he said.
Following Babar’s exclusion from the Test squad, Zaman related the situation to Virat Kohli’s lean phase and that India didn’t drop their star batsman despite him losing his high-scoring touch.
“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,” Zaman wrote on X.
“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.”
“Ladka toh boht bindaas hai, dil mein nahi rakhta baat, saaf bol deta hai (he is a brave guy, doesn’t keep things inside, voices himself out clearly),” said Basit about Zaman’s comments.
Zaman has been instructed to respond to the show cause notice by October 21, with his comments considered a breach of his player contract with the PCB.