Reason behind Babar’s exclusion from Bangladesh ODIs revealed
KARACHI:Was Babar Azam unfit or dropped? The mystery has been solved. The senior batter was not included in the national squad for the Bangladesh tour due to being out of form.Later, when he refused to play in the National T20 Cup citing pain in his leg, PCB doctor Javed Mughal examined his injury, which turned out to be serious, and treatment was started.According to details, the selection committee had not included Babar Azam in the squad for the Bangladesh tour due to his poor performance in the World Cup. Later, coach Mike Hesson said that Babar was not dropped, but rested to give opportunities to young players.Recently, in a press conference, selector Aaqib Javed said: “Babar was out due to fitness issues, and similarly Fakhar is also not fit. We will ask the board to investigate how this happened, especially since neither of them played any cricket after the World Cup.”These contradictory statements created confusion. Sources claimed that both Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman participated in the T20 World Cup despite incomplete fitness, which also affected Babar’s performance. The selectors were unaware of this and had picked them based on the clearance report of team physio Cliff Deacon.Recently, when the National T20 Cup was about to begin, Babar declined participation citing minor leg pain. However, when UK-based PCB Director of Sports and Exercise Medicine Dr. Javed Mughal examined him, the injury appeared serious. Fakhar Zaman also did not seem fully fit, raising questions about how both players were included in the World Cup squad. PCB officials are now trying to uncover the facts.Sources further revealed that during the recent Bangladesh tour, Mohammad Rizwan was also not fully fit. Young batter Maaz Sadaqat appeared injured before the third match, but due to a shortage of players, he had to be fielded and bowled only one over. Earlier, Shamil Hussain had also suffered a neck injury.
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