Pakistan captain Babar Azam has developed a fever ahead of the third and final Test against England, scheduled to be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham from September 9 to 13.
Pakistan men’s cricket team media manager Naveed Akram Cheema confirmed that Babar had informed him about his condition. However, Cheema said there was no need to panic or be concerned about the captain’s health.
According to the media manager, Babar remains fit despite the fever and is expected to recover soon.
The development comes at a difficult time for Pakistan, who is under intense pressure following two heavy defeats against England. The team lost the first Test by an innings and 103 runs before suffering a humiliating 194-run defeat at Lord’s in the second Test.
The back-to-back losses left Pakistan 2-0 down in the three-match series. The team also failed to score more than 200 runs in any of its four innings across the first two Tests.
Babar, meanwhile, was dismissed for eight and six runs in the Lord’s Test. According to highly credible sources, the 31-year-old captain has been under considerable pressure following the team’s defeat and a series of major decisions taken by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
There is also reportedly an atmosphere of deep silence and intense pressure at the Pakistan team’s hotel following the defeat and the PCB’s sudden changes.
As part of the overhaul, the PCB released Imam-ul-Haq, Awais Zafar, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Aga, Aamir Jamal, Ali Usman and Khurram Shahzad from the squad.
Saim Ayub, Abdullah Fazal, Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran, Razaullah, Mohammad Imran Jr and Saad Baig were added to the squad for the third Test against England.
The PCB also released head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Gul from the team setup. They will be replaced by white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke, respectively, for the final Test.
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