2 min readSep 20, 2026 09:07 PM IST
Pakistan cricket’s turmoil needs no introduction in recent times. While things have always been shaky, the latest fiasco—removing seven players from the squad after the second Test of the three-match series against England and sacking coaches Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul—drew further criticism towards the board. Regardless of the changes made, Pakistan lost the series 3-0 and before the final Test, when Babar Azam was asked about the changes in the team side to which he responded by saying, ‘It was news to me too.’
Former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram slammed Babar for that statement and asked if he did not know about the changes, what was he doing selling “chickpeas”
“Babar Azam said he did not know. If you don’t know, then what were you doing here? Were you here to sell chickpeas?” Akram asked. “As a player or as a person, I believe that if your leader or captain does not stand by you, you cannot give 100 per cent,” Wasim said during a charity event in Manchester.
“I do not want to blame anyone, and I could be wrong as well,” Akram said. “But in my opinion, Babar should not have taken the captaincy. All of this was unnecessary… My suggestion is that after the second Test, Babar should have said that he would play only as a player,” he added.
Penalty
Pakistan were docked 11 World Test Championship (WTC) points and fined 50 percent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate during the third and final Test against England at Edgbaston. Pakistan were found to be 11 overs short of the required rate after time allowances were taken into account in the final Test, which England won by eight wickets.
The points deduction has further hurt Pakistan’s campaign in the ongoing WTC cycle. They remain at the bottom of the standings in ninth place, with their points percentage dropping to 4.63 following the penalty.