Former Pakistan Cricketer Basit Ali has targeted Michael Vaughan for his earlier tweet, criticizing the Pakistan team for dropping Babar Azam. Babar Azam was dropped from the Pakistan team for the 2nd and 3rd Tests vs England and Kamran Ghulam replaced him in the 11.
Surprisingly, Kamran Ghulam smashed a century in his first-ever match itself. He scored 118 runs off 224 balls with 11 fours and 1 six. He has grabbed a lot of limelight with his knock in the game.
Also Read: Pakistan vs England 3rd Test to be moved out of Rawalpindi? PCB provides a colossal update
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi will be very happy today: Basit Ali on Kamran Ghulam’s ton
Former Pakistan player Basit Ali was very happy after Kamran Ghulam’s performance and hailed him in his YouTube video. He stated that Ghulam’s performance in his debut Test would’ve brought a lot of happiness for PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi too.
Mohsin Naqvi, while advocating for the Champions Cup, a couple of months ago stated that there is a lack of talent pool in Pakistan cricket, and hence, a domestic tournament like the Champions Cup will help the management unearth talent from different corners of the country.
“PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi will be very happy today. He had given a statement that ‘there is no replacement at the moment’. But (selectors) Aaqib Javed & Co introduced a new kid and he made a century on debut. The best thing about the knock was that he (Ghulam) came out to bat when the score was 19 for 2”, Basit Ali said.
Basit Ali targets Michael Vaughan over Babar Azam’s old tweet
Basit Ali lashed out at former England cricketer Michael Vaughan in the video. Earlier, Michael Vaughan targeted PCB for dropping a classy player like Babar Azam. Have a look at Vaughan’s earlier tweet below.
So Pakistan haven’t won in a while .. Go 1 nil down in the series and decide to drop the best player in @babarazam258 .. I guess Pakistan cricket is full of surprises but this tops the lot .. absolutely stupid decision .. unless he has asked for a break !!!
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 13, 2024
To this, Basit Ali has given a befitting reply to the former England cricketer. Basit Ali said that PCB should send Ghulam’s picture to Vaughan and tell him that Kamran Ghulam is here to stay. According to Basit Ali, if the Pakistan selectors emphasized picking players regularly from their domestic structure, it would benefit Pakistan cricket going forward.
“Kamran Ghulam ki tasveer dikha dena Michael Vaughan ko aur kehna main hoon na (show Ghulam’s picture to Vaughan and tell him he is there). The bold decision taken by the selectors can lead to betterment (of Pakistan cricket). Like Rohit Sharma had said there (in India), give domestic cricket its due,” Basit Ali further added.
Also Read: Virat Kohli’s net worth surpassed for the 1st time by an Indian cricketer
Babar Azam sidelined by Pakistan selectors
Notably, Babar Azam completely flopped against England in the 1st Test. He got out for 30 runs off 71 balls in 1st innings.
Later, the former Pakistan skipper could manage only 5 runs in the 2nd innings as Pakistan got out for 220. England won the 1st Test which enraged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
On the same day, PCB inducted more members of the selection committee including Aqib Javed, Azhar Ali, Aleem Dar, Bilal Afzal, and Hasan Cheema.
The selectors sent massive shockwaves when they made drastic changes to the Pakistan squad dropping Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Sarfaraz Ahmed from the squad for the 2nd and 3rd Tests vs England.
As for Babar, reports emerged that captain Shan Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie were not in favor of dropping the star batsman but the selectors made the final call. Later, to put a rest to the conspiracy theories, Azhar Mahmood, on behalf of PCB, mentioned that Babar Azam has been rested and not dropped from the Pakistan team.
