Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has expressed displeasure over Fakhar Zaman's tweet questioning the selection panel's decision to exclude Babar Azam from the Test team. The selection panel dropped former captain Babar Azam while announcing the team for the remaining two Tests against England in Multan and Rawalpindi.

Zaman questioned this decision on 'X', which increased the displeasure of the PCB. A PCB source said, “The top officials of the board are not happy with Fakhar's tweet and are talking to him about this.”

Zaman wrote on the social media 'X', "It is worrying to hear about Babar Azam being dropped. India did not bench Virat Kohli during the bad phase between 2020 and 2023 when his average was 19.33, 28.21 and 26.50 respectively."

He said, "If we are thinking of leaving out our main batsman, then it can send a negative message to the team. We should focus on the safety of our main players instead of underestimating them."

It’s concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam. India didn’t bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively. If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan…

— Fakhar Zaman (@FakharZamanLive) October 13, 2024

The new selection committee of PCB had recommended the exclusion of Babar. This proposal was put forward in the selection committee meeting in Lahore just hours after Pakistan's crushing defeat on Friday. After this, a meeting was also held in Multan on Saturday in the presence of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi. Five mentors appointed by PCB on a three-year contract were also present at this meeting.

However, Pakistan captain Shan Masood, who lost six consecutive Test matches under his captaincy, has been retained as the captain. Masood recently publicly defended Babar. He repeatedly reiterated the need to give more time to the players, calling Babar Pakistan's best batsman. Babar has not scored a single half-century in Tests since December 2022.