Eng vs Pak, 3rd Test - Babar Azam admits he was blindsided by Pakistan's wholesale squad changes

Pakistan captain Babar Azam said that the overhaul Pakistan underwent after Lord’s took place without his knowledge, input or approval. Speaking at what was at times a tense press conference on the eve of the third Test at Edgbaston, Babar was particularly taciturn discussing the squad changes, preferring instead to point out it was an “golden opportunity” for incoming players.

Babar admitted he had been just as blindsided as everyone on the outside, having learned of the squad’s wholesale changes only once the official statement had been released. “It was news to me,” Babar said. “I found out after. The PCB decided it, so they’ll be able to explain better.

“The PCB’s decision must have been taken after some thought process,” he added. “It’s better if you ask them why.”

While Babar downplayed any suggestions that the decisions had made the week difficult for him, he acknowledged he was “surprised”. As captain, he should, in theory, be privy to such decision-making, as per Pakistan’s (theoretical) current selectorial structure. He similarly said he had no further news on the PCB’s announcement last week, that they were opening up an inquiry “following media reports concerning discipline and conduct, which are currently being reviewed internally”.

Instead, Babar echoed what his new Test coaches Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke have said over the past few days, keeping the focus tightly on the Test this week, rather than what happened prior, or what might happen once this tour is done.

“The series is lost but we have nothing to lose,” Babar said. “We should play freely and believe in ourselves as a team. We’ve practiced a couple of days and explained things to the new boys. Any young player who comes in is excited, and that excitement is visible. I believe that will be visible in the match, too.”

Following the 194-run defeat at Lord’s, Pakistan’s high-performance director Aaqib Javed had been severely critical of Pakistan’s selections in the series. However, Babar defended his team’s decisions in the first two Tests.

“We didn’t play well in all three facets as a team,” he said. “And when you don’t get results, then you’ll get plenty of criticism from outside. But we did what thought was best at the time. The way we read the pitch and conditions, the XIs we went with were what we thought was best at the time. But we did not get the results or performance we expect of ourselves.”

While Pakistan’s starting XI is anyone’s guess, given the sheer number of new faces in the squad, Babar said the responsibility of performing lay heavily on the senior members of this side. That includes Babar himself, who made scores of 8 and 6 at Lord’s, having missed the first Test at Headingley with a hand injury. Along with every other member of this squad, he has never yet played a Test at Edgbaston.

“Whenever you go into a series or tournament, you back yourself to perform,” he said. “As a senior player, you have to take on more responsibility. I firmly believe you need to grab opportunities and perform in difficult conditions. That’s why we play cricket, because we have to perform and dominate in difficult conditions. We need to forget about past failures and shift focus to the future.”

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