‘Leave him alone, let him bat’ – Salman Ali Agha urges media to stop questioning Babar Azam

Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha urged the media to leave Babar Azam alone ahead of the first T20I against Australia. Babar found himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons following a disappointing stint in the Big Bash League (BBL).

His inclusion in Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad drew criticism from fans as well as experts. Agha admitted he was frustrated by repeated questions surrounding Babar and pointed out that there are 14 other players in the squad apart from the star batter.

“My only wish is that one day I come to a press conference and there are no questions about Babar. I mean, there are eleven, or rather fourteen, other people in the team, other batsmen; think about them too, talk about them too,” Agha said in a press conference as quoted by NDTV Sports.

“Leave him alone, let him bat. He was batting well. You can say that in the Big Bash, he couldn’t perform the way his team expected him to. But for us, he’s performing very well. I think he’s fulfilling his role very well, and that’s all that matters to me now. What happened in the Big Bash doesn’t matter to me at all,” he added.

Australia’s squad, led by Mitchell Marsh, arrived in Lahore for a three-match T20I series amid uncertainty over Pakistan’s participation in next month’s T20 World Cup. The series is being viewed as Pakistan’s final preparatory assignment for the World Cup, but it remains unclear whether the national team will receive government approval to take part in the tournament, which is scheduled to begin on February 7.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, following a meeting with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, stated that all options remain open and that a final decision will be taken either by Friday or next Monday. Pakistan have been protesting the ICC’s decision to replace Bangladesh with Scotland after the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the country’s interim government refused to play T20 World Cup matches in India due to security concerns.

Meanwhile, Pakistan announced their squad for the 20-team tournament, which, barring one exception, is the same squad selected for the T20I series against Australia. The selectors dropped pacer Muhammad Wasim Jr from the World Cup squad, though he will remain available for the series against Australia.

Australia arrived in Lahore without several of their experienced players, with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, and Nathan Ellis all being rested for the Pakistan series to ensure full recovery from injuries ahead of the T20 World Cup.