Pakistan will play England in third and final Test in Egbaston from September 9.
In the midst of instability in Pakistan's men's cricket team setup, former England captain Michael Atherton has questioned Babar Azam's authority as captain. His words come ahead of the third and final Test between England and Pakistan in Birmingham from September 9.
Following last week's crushing 194-run loss to England in the Lord's Test, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) removed seven players, including head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul. This led to calls for Babar to step down as Test captain.
Michael Atherton, a former England batter, asked how Babar will guide the team in the future. Atherton acknowledged that captains still need to exercise control inside the team even though they don't have as much power as they once had.
"I feel it's a horrible position for a captain, Babar Azam, to be in. And what kind of authority does he, or indeed any captain of Pakistan, have in this setup? One understands that the captain is not all-powerful these days. You're not going back 30 years when captains perhaps ran the show, but they have to have some authority within a team. Given what's happened, how do you lead that team now?" Atherton said on the Sky Cricket podcast.
Atherton said that even if Pakistan managed to defeat England in the third and final Test, the country's cricket condition would not get better.
"Not in this instance, no, because of the damage it will do in the long term. This is no way to manage players and no way to build a long-term vision at all," Atherton explained.
Pakistan lost the first Test in Leeds by an innings and 103 runs and now will look to save face at Edgbaston, given that they are placed at the bottom of the World Test Championship points table.
Pakistan made major changes to their Test setup ahead of the third and final Test against England, which begins on September 9, replacing almost half of their squad