Pakistan managed to end their losing streak in home Tests with a 152-run win over England in Multan. The hosts' selections before the match raised a lot of eyebrows, to say the least, with Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah all being dropped from the squad. Assistant coach Azhar Mahmood later said that the trio have been rested for Pakistan's upcoming white-ball tours away from home which only raised more eyebrows as the three players, among the most prominent names from the country in the sport, should be considered central to the side's plans in a bid to end their run of defeats in Test matches.
However, their calls with the team have been vindicated somewhat and this has led to serious questions over Babar's future in particular with the team. Babar has experienced a rather spectacular drop in form in this World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, averaging 22.66 in five Tests last year and 18.50 in four Tests in 2024.
Former India batter Virender Sehwag has said that Babar should now go back to Pakistan's domestic cricket to regain form. "Babar Azam should play domestic cricket now. He should work on his fitness, spend some time with family, then come back to international cricket as a physically fitter and mentally stronger player,” said Sehwag on former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar’s Youtube Channel.
'He has been impacted mentally more'
Babar was sacked as Pakistan's all-format captain after their underwhelming 2023 World Cup campaign. He was then reinstated as their limited-overs captain after just a series of Shaheen Afridi leading Pakistan as their new T20I skipper in March this year before resigning from the post in October after another underwhelming campaign in the T20 World Cup.
{{/usCountry}}Babar was sacked as Pakistan's all-format captain after their underwhelming 2023 World Cup campaign. He was then reinstated as their limited-overs captain after just a series of Shaheen Afridi leading Pakistan as their new T20I skipper in March this year before resigning from the post in October after another underwhelming campaign in the T20 World Cup.
{{/usCountry}}Sehwag said that all these factors seem to have affected Babar, which means that the reason behind his poor form is his mental makeup and not any technical deficiency. "With expectations from Babar decreasing and his resignation from captaincy, it seems he has been more impacted mentally than in terms of technique. He needs to stay mentally strong. He's a talented player, and players like him tend to bounce back quickly," Sehwag added.