Babar Azam suffers fever ahead of third Test against England
Media manager Cheema insists 'no need to panic' as Babar expected to recover soon
LONDON: Pakistan captain Babar Azam has suffered fever ahead of the touring side's third and last Test of the series against England, scheduled to be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham from September 9 to 13.
Following a humiliating 194-run defeat in the Lord's Test and the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) major and sudden decisions, there is an atmosphere of deep silence and intense pressure at the national team's hotel here.
According to highly credible sources, Pakistan captain Babar, who was dismissed for eight and six runs in the Lord's Test, is under considerable pressure following the team's defeat and the decision to send the head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and seven players back to the country, and has now been suffering from a high fever.
When contacted regarding the star batter's health, Pakistan men's cricket team's media manager, Naveed Akram Cheema, initially confirmed the information, saying that the captain had informed him about it.
The media manager, however, insisted that there was no need to panic, stating that Babar is fit and that there is no reason for concern regarding the fever as the 31-year-old is expected to recover soon.
For the unversed, the PCB on Monday, released Imam-ul-Haq, Awais Zafar, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Aga, Aamir Jamal, Ali Usman and Khurram Shahzad from the squad and instead slotted in Saim Ayub, Abdullah Fazal, Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran, Razaullah, Mohammad Imran Jr and Saad Baig for the third Test against England.
As part of the major overhaul, the PCB also released head coach Sarfaraz and bowling coach Gul from the fold, who will be replaced by white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke, respectively.
Updated Pakistan squad for third Test against England
Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Fazal, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicket-keeper), Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicket-keeper) Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah.
Comments