"Hard decisions need to be made!" - Brad Hogg's indirect dig at Fakhar Zaman for Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli's comparison
Former Australia cricketer Brag Hogg took an indirect swipe at Pakistan captain Fakhar Zaman for comparing Babar Azam to Virat Kohli's lean patch in Test cricket. Hogg questioned Pakistan and how the two players' form led to contrasting results for the two teams.
The 53-year-old pointed out that India was the second-best team in terms of wins when Kohli was going through a lean phase. On the other hand, he pointed out that the Men in Green have struggled amid Babar’s failures, becoming the second-worst team in terms of win percentage. Notably, the two teams are currently top and bottom of the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) points table.
Brad Hogg wrote on X:
“Comparing bad form between Babar Azam & Kohli after rumours the Pakistan legend will be dropped for the 2nd test v England is baseless. India: 2nd best win % during Kohli's draught. Pakistan: 2nd worst win % through Babar's. Hard decisions need to be made!”
Babar has been dropped for the remaining two games of the ongoing three-match Test series against England. The right-handed batter scored 30 (71) and 5 (15) in the opening Test to complete 18 innings without a half-century. Following his failures, Pakistan lost the game by an innings and 47 runs, failing to win a single Test in the last 11 games, including four draws.
Apart from Babar, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah have also been dropped from the Test series versus England.
What Fakhar Zaman wrote about Babar Azam?
Pakistan skipper Fakhar Zaman penned down a post X to showcase his support for Babar Azam following his exclusion from the Test squad.
He wrote on X:
"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. 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,” Fakshar Zaman added.
Notably, Babar has amassed 2290 runs in 53 innings since 2020. On the other hand, Kohli has scored 1745 runs in 54 innings during the same period.
Pakistan's squad for the second and third Tests:
Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah (wicket-keeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood.