'The Pakistan captain is protesting against his own board for his own security': Rashid Latif on Babar vs PCB standoff
Pakistan cricket has entered in a turmoil after captain Babar Azam refused to take field on Day 2 of the third Test against England as form of a protest.
Pakistan cricket has entered in a turmoil after captain Babar Azam refused to take field on Day 2 of the third Test against England as form of a protest. Babar missed the first hour of the second day, with Mohammad Rizwan taking over captaincy duties. Initially, the reason behind Babar's absence was believed to be due to a headache, it was later reported that Babar was furious over an altercation he had gotten into with a security personnel while heading out for dinner the previous night and decided to stay back in the change room.
Weighing in on the whole incident, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, who confirmed the development on a local news channel, called the entire event unfortunate and demanded that Ramiz Raja looks into the matter in due time. Latif reckons the prospect of Babar and PCB being at loggerheads is not what Pakistan cricket needs right now and expects the chairman of the board to intervene at the earliest.
"Questions will obviously be asked. The reason was not given. Whoever is at fault, chairman Ramiz Raja should look into it. Someone new has been deputed in Karachi but he has to be made aware that they are here to look after the team and its players and not to trouble them. He is the captain of Pakistan team after all. This should have been looked into and I think as a protest, Babar Azam refused to step into the ground. I mean, the Pakistan cricket captain is protesting against his own board for his own security. We need to ensure this doesn't happen," the former Pakistan captain said during the show.
As per multiple reports, the entire incident took place on the eve of the second day of the Test match. On Saturday night, Babar and some of his teammates including Imam Ul Haq and Azhar Ali, were headed towards a restaurant in Clifton to have dinner when the Pakistan captain was interrogated by a security guard. As per the protocol, if the players intend to step out of the hotel premises, they are to inform the security in advance, but on this occasion the process was not followed and it resulted into a heated exchange between Babar and the security personnel. Apparently, the guard took exception to only Babar, which did not go down well with the Pakistan captain.
A serious upheaval is expected within the PCB, with chairman Ramiz Raja expected to be removed from his post. Besides, questions could also be asked of Babar as Pakistan stare at a 0-3 whitewash. Under Babar, Pakistan lost in the final of the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup to go with a hat-trick of defeats in Test matches and home and a fourth one looming.
