Babar Azam told ‘You shouldn’t have batted at No.4’: ‘Virat Kohli retired from Tests when not given captaincy’

Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has now stated that Babar should have openly revolted against the decision of having to bat at No.4, saying he should have put his foot down and challenged the decision of head coach Mike Hesson.

Basit gave the example of Virat Kohli, claiming that the Indian great retired from Tests because he was not given the captaincy after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman don't have a voice. How come they agreed to bat in the middle order?” said Basit on the ‘Game Plan’ show.

Speaking about Virat's retirement, he bid adieu to Tests in May last year. However, no one has publicly stated that he made the decision after being refused the captaincy. After Rohit Sharma and Virat's retirement, Shubman Gill was made the Test captain, and under his reign, India drew the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England.

Kamran Akmal disagrees

However, former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal disagreed with Basit, stating that it is not easy for players to go against the team management when form is not there.

“No player dares to go against the team management. I have just seen Younis Khan being adamant about his position. As a player, you just cannot say that. You will be thrown into the sidelines if you say such things,” said Akmal.

“When the form is not there, no player says such things. Before the Champions Trophy, his form was not there. He had left the captaincy. Big players even agree to such things. The form is very important. When form is not there, a batter would even agree to bat at No.8,” he added.

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