Regardless of the reason for the decision, it remains a big call considering the three are among the highest-profile players in the country. Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, who is father-in-law to Shaheen, has now expressed support for the decision, though. “Supporting the selectors’ decision to give Babar, Shaheen, and Naseem a break from international cricket. This move not only helps protect and extend the careers of these champion players but also gives a great opportunity to test and groom emerging talent, building strong bench strength for the future,” said Afridi on his X handle.

Pakistan’s alarming home struggles

Pakistan’s fortunes at home in Test cricket have dwindled alarmingly, with the latest blow coming in the form of an innings defeat to England on a flat pitch in Multan. Pakistan became the first team in the history of Test cricket to have suffered an innings defeat despite scoring over 500 runs in their first innings.

This came closely on the heels of Pakistan becoming the first team to be whitewashed by Bangladesh in a Test series. That series was also the first time Bangladesh won a Test match in Pakistan. While that result was termed as among the worst in the history of Pakistan cricket, the subsequent defeat to England has also been termed the same.

“Babar is our No.1 player. There is no question about that. His technique and ability. If you look at Pakistan’s FTP, there’s a lot of cricket coming up. So, because of that, the selection committee decided that this was the best time to give Babar a rest. After that, we have to go to Australia and Zimbabwe and there is a South Africa tour as well. So that’s important,” said Mahmood about dropping the struggling Babar Azam.

“If you look at the fast bowling, this was the third test under new management. Before that we were also struggling as we wanted to know how to get 20 wickets. So now we think we have more options with spin. There were also a few niggles. Naseem had a few niggles and Shaheen was playing a lot of cricket. So we decided to rest him,” Mahmood further said.