"Those Who Made Errors Are Still There": Ex Pakistan Captain On Babar Azam 'Fitness' Doubts

Pakistan will play a two-Test series against Bangladesh from August 21, with Babar Azam set to bat at no. 4.

Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt heaped praise on Babar Azam and said that the right-handed batter has proved his fitness and scored truckloads of runs in the past two years. Pakistan's stalwart batter Babar Azam is set to play at the number four spot in their upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh, sources informed Geo News on Thursday. The sources told Geo News that Abdullah Shafiq's position in the team as an opener is "not under threat," and captain Shan Masood will bat at the number three.

Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Butt said: "Babar Azam scored truckloads of runs in the last 2 years, he proved his fitness, he ran on the field, and scored runs while batting first as well as second innings. Things should go up but they are getting broken in the middle, which is wrong. So, this is the responsibility of the players to maintain their fitness."

He added that the whole nation started to criticize the fitness of the Pakistan cricket team after their poor performance at the T20 World Cup 2024.

"Entire Pakistan is talking about the fitness of the team and it brought a storm in Pakistan, players at the junior level were asked to run. This came after people said players weren't fit in the T20 World Cup 2024. No one questioned the physios or trainers, but instead, they started making players at the district level push hard for fitness. Those who made errors are still there," he added.

The two-match Test series will kick off on August 21 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The two Tests against Bangladesh will mark the first assignment of Jason Gillespie as Pakistan's Test coach.