Former national team captain, Babar Azam, has not yet joined the army fitness camp at Kakul, Abbottabad, as rest of the team prepares for the New Zealand T20I series starting April 18.
The right-hand better, reportedly, returned to Lahore a day back, after completing Umrah (pilgrimage). He was accompanied by Imam-ul-Haq, Iftikhar Ahmed and Naseem Shah for the holy trip to Saudi Arabia.
According to sources, Babar will join the squad tomorrow, as the grueling Pakistan Military Academy training routine continues.
Reports state that Babar did not want to join the fitness camp, as he wanted a break after a hectic period post 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. According to sources, Babar was not pleased at the announcement of the training camp as he is said to state that the training regime could have started a bit closer to the New Zealand series.
In a recent development, the Pakistan Cricket Board is considering to re-appoint Babar Azam as captain.
However, sources further clarified that the batting maestro is reluctant to re-assume the responsibilities after the mishandling of his removal as the skipper of Pakistan during his previous stint.
According to the sources, Babar wants reassurances regarding specific matters before agreeing to re-assume captaincy and is currently in negotiations with the PCB.
Babar was removed from captaincy in white ball cricket after the ICC ODI World Cup in November and eventually, he stepped down as skipper of Pakistan’s Test side making way for Shan Masood.
In addition to this, Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir have come out of retirement and reportedly both players are not on good terms with Babar Azam.
It will be interesting to see how the dynamic of Imad Wasim, Babar Azam and Mohammad Amir turns out as the two players criticized Babar openly on his performance and captaincy on national television.
