Opening batsman Fakhar Zaman has responded to Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) show-cause notice, which was issued after he had tweeted his opinion following the board's decision to drop former captain Babar Azam from the squad for the second and third Tests against England in the ongoing series at home.
"Babar Azam is one of the best batters in the world, and that’s why I felt compelled to express my opinion," Zaman said in his response to the PCB, as quoted by cricketpakistan.com. "I believe Babar Azam deserved a chance during tough times, reflecting on the PCB's central contract as a fellow player."
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Babar's run of low scores continued in the first Test against England, which Pakistan lost by an innings. Following that, PCB's new selection committee, led by former pacer Aaqib Javed, dropped Babar, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Sarfaraz Ahmed from the Test squad.
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Babar's replacement, debutant Kamran Ghulam, went on to score a century in the second Test at Multan as Pakistan levelled the three-match series with a 152-run win.
Before that, Zaman expressed his disappointment with PCB's decision to drop Babar.
"It’s concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam. India didn’t bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively," Zaman had posted on 'X'.
"If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan has ever produced, it could send a deeply negative message across the team. There is still time to avoid pressing the panic button; we should focus on safeguarding our key players rather than undermining them," his post further read.
However, some of the cricket experts and former players have lauded the new selection panel for rewarding players like Ghulam for their consistency in domestic cricket.
In his response to the show-cause notice, Zaman went on to add: "The PCB is our institution, and we will continue to respect it."
Zaman is expected to escape reprimand for his remarks about Babar, a source told PTI.
"Fakhar has said that he has utmost respect for the PCB as it is his institution which employs him and runs the sport in Pakistan," the source was quoted as saying.
