3 Reasons Why Babar Azam Should Be Dropped From England Test Series

Babar Azam has been poor in Test cricket as of late [x] Babar Azam has been poor in Test cricket as of late [x]

The month of October will be pivotal for the Pakistan Test team, as they will take on England in a 3-match Test series. The last time England visited Pakistan in 2022, the Ben Stokes led side inflicted a 3-0 defeat, and as a result, they once again start as the favourites.

For Pakistan, nothing is going right for them. Under the leadership of Shan Masood, the Asian giants have crumbled hard and are yet to win a single Test match. Recently they were whitewashed by the touring Bangladesh team, and the Test players came under heavy scrutiny.

Star players like Masood and Babar Azam are yet to find their best form in 2024. Babar in particular has been horrendous in the game's longest format, scoring just 64 runs in four innings against Bangladesh. He hasn't scored a single Test fifty since December 2022, and is under pressure to keep his place in the team.

So, with the Test series coming up next month, we at OneCricket have jotted down 3 key reasons as to why Babar should be dropped from the England Test series.

Form a big worry for Babar Azam

The last time Babar scored a fifty dates back to December 2022, and since then, he has been woefully out of touch. He had a poor tour of Australia, and a lot was expected of him in the Bangladesh series, but he failed to deliver once again.

In 3 matches against the Aussies, he could only accumulate 126 runs, at an average of 21.00. The numbers drop massively in the Bangladesh series, where he just scored 64 runs, at an average of 16.00. A player of his stature cannot go through this long without scoring match-winning runs.

Pakistan needs to manage his workload

When was the last time Babar Azam took a break from cricket? The Pakistan superstar has been playing non-stop, and is also taking part in the Champions ODI Cup, which has no relevance taking place just before a Test series.

Pakistan have already crashed out of the WTC finale race, and hence, they can give rest to Babar and hope that he rejuvenates just like his Asian friend, Virat Kohli.

A chance for the youngsters to showcase their skills

The last pointer and this one co-relates. With Pakistan out of the WTC race, Pakistan should take the bold call and include more youngsters in their side. Look at what England have done. The young guns like Harry Brook, Jamie Smith have taken their team to a different level.

Similary, Pakistan should try out their best youngsters and it would also allow Babar to retrospect and come back as a better batter.