{"id":21810,"date":"2026-09-08T15:54:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T15:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=21810"},"modified":"2026-09-08T15:54:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T15:54:18","slug":"babar-azam-breaks-silence-on-pakistan-crickets-mid-series-shake-up-says-it-was-news-to-me-as-well-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=21810","title":{"rendered":"Babar Azam breaks silence on Pakistan cricket\u2019s mid-series shake-up, says &#8216;it was news to me as well&#8217; | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133928453,imgsize-1401115,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg\" alt=\"Babar Azam breaks silence on Pakistan cricket\u2019s mid-series shake-up, says 'it was news to me as well'\" title=\"Pakistan captain Babar Azam and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi (Agency Image)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Pakistan captain Babar Azam and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi (Agency Image)\">Pakistan captain Babar Azam and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi (Agency Image)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Pakistan captain Babar Azam has broken his silence on the Pakistan Cricket Board\u2019s sweeping mid-series shake-up, revealing that he was not consulted before seven players were dropped and changes were made to the coaching setup.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>The PCB made the drastic changes after Pakistan suffered back-to-back heavy defeats in the Test series against England, with several established players sent home ahead of the final Test at Edgbaston.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>Speaking to reporters ahead of the 3rd Test match against England, Babar admitted that the developments came as a surprise even to him.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h3><b>&#8216;I was not consulted\u2019<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>Babar made it clear that the decision to overhaul the squad was taken entirely by the PCB.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/>\u201cIt was news to me as well. I also came to know about it later. Since the PCB made the decision, they can explain it better,\u201d Babar said in the pre-match press conference.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/>The captain added that he was not involved in the decision to send seven players back or make changes to the coaching staff. The players released included Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Ali Usman and Awais Zafar.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h3><b>Fit to lead at Edgbaston<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>Amid the turmoil, Babar also confirmed that he is fit to lead Pakistan in the final Test. The captain had missed training earlier in the week after suffering from fever but has recovered in time for the Edgbaston contest. Pakistan will now look to avoid a series whitewash while dealing with a drastically altered squad and continued uncertainty surrounding the team management.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">England Squad:<\/span> Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root(c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith(w), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir, Sonny Baker, Sam Cook, Ollie Pope<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Pakistan Squad:<\/span> Azan Awais, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Babar Azam(c), Saim Ayub, Saud Shakeel, Ghazi Ghori(w), Arafat Minhas, Ubaid Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Sajid Khan, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Mohammad Imran, Saad Baig, Abdullah Fazal, Razaullah<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/news\/babar-azam-breaks-silence-on-pakistan-crickets-mid-series-shake-up-says-it-was-news-to-me-as-well\/articleshow\/133928053.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pakistan captain Babar Azam and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi (Agency Image) Pakistan captain Babar Azam has broken his silence on the Pakistan Cricket Board\u2019s sweeping mid-series shake-up, revealing that he was not consulted before seven players were dropped and changes were made to the coaching setup.The PCB made the drastic changes after Pakistan suffered back-to-back [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pakistan-captain-babar-azam-and-pcb-chairman-mohsin-naqvi.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Pakistan captain Babar Azam and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi (Agency Image) Pakistan captain Babar Azam has broken his silence on the Pakistan Cricket Board\u2019s sweeping mid-series shake-up, revealing that he was not consulted before seven players were dropped and changes were made to the coaching setup.The PCB made the drastic changes after Pakistan suffered back-to-back [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 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