After 0-3 defeat, Pakistan captain Babar Azam calls for changes in team composition

The Pakistani team is facing issues with their performances in England. In the third Test match held in Birmingham, the Pakistani players were once again forced to capitulate against the English bowlers. In the first half of the match, the entire team scored only 133 runs.

However, the more striking statistic was Pakistan's overall performance during their tour of England. Over five matches, the Pakistani team scored a total of 743 runs. Meanwhile, Indian captain Shubman Gill personally scored 754 runs during his visit to England last year. Thus, the entire Pakistani team could not surpass Shubman Gill's individual result.

Shubman Gill demonstrated outstanding play over five Test matches against England last year. The Indian captain earned 754 runs in the series. He scored four centuries, and his average was 75.40. His impressive innings of 269 runs at the Edgbaston ground deserves special attention.

Now, at the same Edgbaston ground, the Pakistani team lost, scoring only 133 runs. This comparison between Gill's statistics and Pakistan's became a topic of discussion on social media.

Pakistan's performance in England remains extremely disappointing. The runs they have scored show the following results: 171, 135, 110, 194, and 133 runs. This means that the Pakistani team failed to cross the 200-run mark in any of the five matches.

Furthermore, no Pakistani player managed to score a century throughout the tour. Only two half-centuries were credited to the players. As for captain Babar Azam, he did not participate in the first Test match and, despite his return, struggled with the batting. His statistics include three single-digit scores; in three innings across two matches, he scored 21 runs. He still has one Test match to play at Edgbaston.

In the first match in Birmingham, none of Pakistan's top 5 players managed to score even a ten. This marked the first instance in the history of Test cricket on English soil where the first five batsmen of Pakistan were dismissed for a single-digit score. Only Saud Shakeel managed to hold out for some time in the entire match, scoring 43 runs, but none of the other players managed to play a big innings.

Significant changes occurred in the Pakistani cricket community during the visit to England. Following poor performances, the team changed its coaching staff, dismissing Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul from their positions. Nevertheless, there was no significant improvement in Pakistan's play on the field. In Birmingham, the team once again showed extremely weak play, returning to the dressing room with a total score of 133 runs.

Shubman Gill's previous visit to England was one of the most significant periods of his career. Leading the Indian team for the first time, Gill set numerous batting records. After Virat Kohli retired, Gill was appointed at number four, and he fully embraced this responsibility. His statistics—754 runs, 4 centuries, and an average of 75.40 in the five-match series—speak volumes about his performance.

Pakistan's statistics during the visit to England:

• Leeds Test: 171 and 135
• Lord's Test: 110 and 194
• Birmingham Test: 133 runs (one innings)

The Pakistani team, having visited England, could not change its unsuccessful streak. In the third Test match, held in Birmingham, the Pakistani attack crumbled on the very first day. After losing the toss and batting first, the entire visiting team was dismissed for just 133 runs.

Following the humiliating defeat in the Lord's Test, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made significant changes: seven players were sent home, and Mike Hesson was appointed as the new head coach. However, despite all these efforts, the situation on the field did not change.

Under cloudy weather conditions in Birmingham, English fast bowlers broke the onslaught of the Pakistani batsmen. The Pakistani players looked helpless against athletes such as Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, and Josh Tongue. None of the batsmen could stay at the crease for long.

Star batsman Babar Azam's form continued to deteriorate in this match. When the Pakistan team struggled, losing three wickets at 24 runs, Babar came out to bat. Spectators hoped he could stabilize the innings, but he was cleanly bowled by a strong delivery from Josh Tongue, scoring only 7 runs. Earlier, in the first Test of the series, Babar had also managed only 8 and 6 runs at Lord's.

Disappointed fans are actively criticizing Babar on social media due to his consistent poor performances. Only Saud Shakeel managed to show resilience throughout the innings, contributing the most with 43 runs. Besides him, Razulullah scored 11 runs, while the other batsmen failed to reach even ten runs. Opener Sam Ayub was dismissed without any runs, and Abdullah Shafique (3) and Shan Masood (5) also left the field early.

English bowlers gave the Pakistani batsmen no chance. Josh Tongue demonstrated skill by taking 4 wickets, including Babar, while Ollie Robinson secured 3 wickets, and Jofra Archer took 2. To date, the entire series has not seen a single match where the Pakistan team could score 200 runs.

The Pakistani cricket team has long been unable to achieve respectable results against strong opponents, especially in Test matches, where their play has been extremely disappointing. During the Test series between Pakistan and England, the Pakistani batsman once again performed poorly.

In the second match of the series, held at Lord's against England, the entire Pakistani team suffered a humiliating defeat in the first innings, scoring only 110 runs. In the second innings, the team barely managed to hold on, losing three wickets at a score of 14.

The team's main reliable batsman, Babar Azam, once again failed to meet expectations. In the first innings, he was dismissed, scoring only 8 runs. In the second innings, where high expectations were placed on him, he also failed to demonstrate his strength, being dismissed at 6 runs.

Mohammad Yusuf, a former captain and outstanding batsman for Pakistan, became angry at such a lackluster performance by Babar Azam and other batsmen. He directly blamed the team's coaching staff for the players' poor form.

Mohammad Yusuf stated in his post on social media platform X that he had warned about this problem many years ago, but some so-called coaches around Babar Azam and other players did not allow him to work on easily solvable issues. He emphasized that this failure has led to the current slump in Pakistani cricket.

Expressing his dissatisfaction on platform X, Mohammad Yusuf called these coaches 'toxic' to the sport. He noted that they lack vision; they not only hinder player progress but also guide the most talented cricketers down the wrong path.

Yusuf also cautioned young players, saying that if cricketers do not understand whose advice to take and whose to ignore, their careers will end much sooner than expected.

The former captain expressed deep regret that he had warned about the technical deficiencies of Babar Azam and other players several years ago. According to Yusuf, the technical errors that could have been corrected very easily were not fixed by these coaches. He concluded that this negligence is what has caused Pakistani cricket to go through such a difficult period.

Yusuf openly stated that the weak technique of Pakistani batsmen was fully exposed to international bowlers, whether on pitches in Bangladesh or England. What could have been corrected earlier has become the team's main weakness, causing the Pakistani team to look completely helpless and struggling at the international level today.