Pakistan dropped former captain Babar Azam for the second and third Tests of the England series following a poor run, during which he did not cross fifty in nearly two years in the format. Babar was part of a wholesale list of high-profile changes that included the dropping of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah as well.

Pakistan assistant coach Azhar Mahmood, however, clarified ahead of the second Test in Multan that Babar was "rested", not dropped, and that he was still their No.1 batter. In an official PCB statement, selector Aaqib Javed had confirmed that all three were rested: "With these factors in mind and in the best interest of Pakistan cricket as well as the players, we’ve made the decision to rest Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi."

Before the start of play on day one in Multan, Ramiz Raja, who held the PCB chief's position not long ago, opined that resting Babar was a call that should have been made by the batter himself. Speaking for Sky Sports, Raja said, "It should have been Babar's call, whether he wanted time out from the playing XI or not.

"I think it was a knee-jerk reaction [by the] new selectors. The general opinion was that he needed rest and he was taken out of the squad completely."

Ramiz Raja: Babar sells cricket in Pakistan

Ramiz also spoke about the brand value Babar brings to Pakistan cricket and how that is a factor to be considered as well while making decisions: "We need to understand that he sells cricket for Pakistan. There's always this debate that is happening right now in Pakistan – whether there's going to be another failure for Babar Azam or whether he's going to make a comeback. And that keeps things interesting.

"Right now, I don't see any sellable commodity in this Pakistan team ... sponsors are a little wary as well because a) Pakistan have been on the losing sequence and b) There are no real superstars playing in this Test match now."

There have been mixed reactions on Babar's dropping (or resting, officially) in the cricket community. Some have supported the PCB's decision to rest him, while most are of the opinion that dropping him won't fix the larger, systemic woes that they have got going.

Babar's replacement, Kamran Ghulam, however, has started decently on his Test debut, getting off to 23 off 44 at the time of writing after two quick wickets reduced Pakistan to 19-2 having chosen to bat first.

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