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Resign or become Sarfaraz 2.0: Shoaib Akhtar to Babar Azam after fallout with selectors

WION Web Team
New Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Aug 29, 2022, 03:22 PM IST
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Photograph:(AFP)

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Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has said that skipper Babar Azam should either resign as the captain of the team or he will end up becoming Sarfaraz Ahmed part two. Akhtar comments follow the media reports that claimed that Babar is not happy with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) due to the team selection for the upcoming tour of South Africa. 

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has said that skipper Babar Azam should either resign as the captain of the team or he will end up becoming Sarfaraz Ahmed part two. Akhtar comments follow the media reports that claimed that Babar is not happy with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) due to the team selection for the upcoming tour of South Africa. 

The reports said that Babar's suggestions on squad selection were completely disregarded by the Pakistan selection committee led by Mohammad Wasim.  

While speaking at PTV Sports, Shoaib said, “I have heard that PCB had ignored Babar’s suggestions regarding squad selection,” adding that “Babar should resign as captain if that is the case.” 

The 'Rawalpindi Express’ warned Babar that if he doesn’t resign as captain after the latest incident with the selection, he will become ‘Sarfaraz part two’ while adding his resignation will serve as a strong message to the PCB that such things cannot happen in future. 

PCB Chief Selector Mohammad Wasim had announced Pakistan's squad for the upcoming tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe a few days ago. Following the announcement, media reports surfaced that Babar wasn't happy with some names in the squad and conveyed his opinion to the PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan. 

Whereas other reports quoted PCB sources as saying that all selections made through mutual discussions between all interested parties. 

Earlier, Akhtar had lashed out at former skipper Sarfaraz for his failure to stamp authority in the management and during team selections while letting former head coach Mickey Arthur take the important calls during his captaincy tenure. 

Test squad: Babar Azam (capt), Imran Butt, Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Tabish Khan, Hasan Ali, Shahnawaz Dhani, Nauman Ali, Zahid Mahmood, Sajid Khan.

ODI squad: Babar Azam (capt), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali.

T20I squad: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali, Arshad Iqbal.