Former Pakistan cricketer and chief selector Iqbal Qasim has voiced concerns over the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to drop Babar Azam midway through the Test series against England.
It’s no secret that Babar has been under pressure lately. His recent performances haven’t exactly been the stuff of headlines—especially during Pakistan’s home series against Bangladesh, where he managed just 64 runs in four innings.
Things didn’t get any better against England either. After scoring a total of 35 runs in the first Test, Babar found himself out of the squad, replaced by Shan Masood, who went on to lead Pakistan to a convincing 152-run victory in Multan.
But is dropping Babar really the right call?
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Iqbal Qasim Thinks We’re Expecting Too Much
In an exclusive interview with a local sports website, Iqbal Qasim didn’t mince words when it came to how the PCB is handling its top players, particularly Babar Azam. He feels that Pakistan has set an unusually high bar for the star batter, to the point where anything less than a century seems unacceptable.
“Our mindset has become such that whoever is the top performer is made the captain,” Qasim explained.
“But when that cricketer faces a bad phase, he is removed like a fly from milk. We’ve become accustomed to seeing Babar score hundreds and fifties, and even his ‘bad’ innings are around 30-35 runs, while other batsmen struggle to even reach that.”
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This idea that Babar needs to perform at his peak every single time he walks to the crease is problematic. It’s unrealistic, even for a player of his caliber. And Qasim is right—every great cricketer, from Imran Khan to Javed Miandad, has gone through slumps.
The key, according to Qasim, is supporting them through these rough patches, not discarding them the moment they falter.
Babar’s Absence: A Double-Edged Sword?
While Pakistan’s win in Multan under Shan Masood’s leadership is certainly a boost for the team, Qasim believes Babar should have been given more support. He doesn’t see the logic in dropping a player of Babar’s stature, even if he’s struggling with form.
“Babar has served as captain, reached a good position, and has been a top performer. He needed support; we should have played him, even if you removed him from captaincy,” Qasim added. “As a player, he deserves a spot. If you say he doesn’t deserve a spot as a player, that’s just unfair.”
Qasim makes a compelling point here. Babar Azam has been the backbone of Pakistan’s batting lineup for years, and his exclusion sends a tough message—not just to him, but to the rest of the team.
What do you think? Should Babar have been given more time to find his form? Or was it the right decision to drop him?
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