Pakistan captain Babar Azam unhappy with PCB, refuses to take the field vs England: Report

Pakistan captain Babar Azam refused to take the field during the ongoing third Test match against England in Karachi. According to reports, Babar did not come out to captain his side on Day 2 of the last Test match as a form of protest against the Pakistan Cricket Broad (PCB). Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif has revealed that Babar is angry with PCB because of an incident that occurred the previous night when the prolific batter was stopped from going out for dinner with his teammates.

Babar vs PCB?

Rashid told a local news channel that Babar along with Azhar Ali and Imam Ul Haq was supposed to go out for dinner. However, security stopped him from leaving the hotel due to security concerns. When Babar and his teammates reached the lobby and were about to get in the car, they were stopped from leaving by security, which left the Pakistan captain furious, according to Rashid. Babar then left the car and went back to his hotel room. 

"An incident took place last night. It has come out in the media that is why I am revealing it, otherwise I wouldn't have. The players were supposed to go out for dinner with family. The security needs to be made aware of it. The players, including Azhar Ali, Imam Ul Haq and Babar Azam had informed them. But when they reached the lobby and were about to get inside the car, the security told Babar that he can't go out and the rest can. So no one went," Latif was quoted as saying on a local news channel. 

On Sunday, Babar refused to take the field against England as a form of protest. Mohammad Rizwan then took over the captaincy for some time and the PCB tried to cover up the situation by saying that Babar was suffering from a severe headache. Babar later joined his teammates and resumed captaincy. 

As far as the ongoing Test match is concerned, England are on the verge of creating history as they are looking to hand Pakistan a clean sweep in their own backyard. At stumps on Day 3, England are 112/2 and need just 55 runs to win the match and secure the series 3-0. England have already won the first two matches in Rawalpindi and Multan that were held earlier this month. 

Image: ICC