Will Babar Azam return to Pakistan team? Former Pakistani star Basit Ali makes a bold prediction

Former cricketer Basit Ali was rooting for Babar Azam to return to the Pakistan team after he was left out of the squad for the second and third Tests at home against England. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reconstituted a new selection committee an hour after Pakistan’s historic defeat by an innings and 47 runs in the first Test, the star quartet of Babar, former captain Sarfraz Ahmed and speedsters Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were dropped from the team.

Babar’s ouster came as a surprise to many and resulted in former cricketers and fans sharing differing opinions on the decision.

But some pundits and analysts expected the decision to be taken amid Babar’s struggle to reach fifty in his last 18 Test innings.

With Babar replaced, Kamran Ghulam made a name for himself with a century on his Test debut and the 30-year-old’s return to the team became a hot topic of discussion.

But Basit has backed the former captain’s return to the team and believes Babar will be back in action after the completion of the two Tests.

“He still has a place in the team. He will return to the team after two Test matches,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

Apart from Babar’s ouster from the squad, his successor as white-ball captain remains another issue for the PCB to decide.

Babar’s decision came days before Pakistan’s three Tests against England began in Multan. According to rumors and various reports, several names have entered the race for the vacant position.

But Basit believes that there are only two candidates suitable for this role: “The next white-ball captain will be Mohammad Rizwan or Salman Agha.”

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Babar’s decision to step down as captain reflects his desire to “focus more on making a greater impact as a player.”

During his first stint as Pakistan captain, which began in 2019, he led the Men in Green to the semi-finals and finals of the T20 World Cup in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

However, after promising results, Pakistan began to decline in all formats. Last year, Pakistan was eliminated from the Asian Cup at the Super Four stage. The decline continued after Pakistan returned home from the group stage of the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

He decided to step down as captain and Shaheen Shah Afridi was appointed as his successor. Babar’s second stint began after the PCB decided to reinstate him as captain, months before the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Pakistan failed to advance from Group A after lengthy defeats to the United States and arch-rivals India. After a string of poor results in the second period, Babar eventually decided to take the burden of captaincy off his shoulders once again.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)