Babar Azam’s non-inclusion in the Pakistan squad for the final two Tests of their series against England has been one of the biggest talking points in international cricket in recent weeks.

Babar’s poor form in Test cricket saw the PCB dropping him, as well as Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah. Their big call saw a result as Pakistan equalised to make it 1-1 in the second Test in Multan, and have gotten off to a fantastic start in Rawalpindi in the third match.

While Babar’s replacement has been a contentious issue, Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie provided his backing to the former captain, speaking about Babar’s recent struggles in the format but also expecting him to bounce back.

“Babar Azam is a fine player, and I think he’s one of the best players in the world, and he had a bit of a lean patch. But I don’t think there’s many great players around that have never had a lean patch,” said the former Australia pace bowler in an interview to Sky Sports. “I’m very confident Babar will be back scoring a lot of runs for Pakistan in all formats.”

'He's too good a player…'

Babar’s poor spell in Test cricket has seen him average just a touch above 20 since the beginning of 2023, as well as a long drought without any substantial scores. His replacement at number four, Kamran Ghulam, made the most of the opportunity by striking a century in the second match.

“He’s just too good a player; he works really hard at his game; he’s very precise with his preparation and what he needs to do to get ready, so I fully expect him to have a huge role going forward in the next little while for Pakistan,” concluded Gillespie, who represented Australia as part of their pace battery for several years in the early-to-mid 2000s.

In the decisive third Test against England, Pakistan put themselves in a phenomenal position by restricting England to 118-6. However, recovery innings by Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith saw them finish on a respectable 267 in Rawalpindi. 

Spinners continued to shine for Pakistan, as Sajid Khan and Noman Ali continued their excellent form in this Test, as Sajid took a six-wicket haul in the first innings as well.

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