Pakistan have lost six consecutive Test matches under Shan Masood's captaincy.
This was Pakistan’s sixth consecutive Test loss and third on the bounce at home under Shan Masood’s captaincy, leading to strong reactions from their fans and former players alike.
Batting legend Younis Khan also joined the bandwagon and launched a scathing attack on Masood, though he refrained from taking his name.
Speaking at an event, Younis took a jibe at Masood, claiming that the latter lacks essential qualities of a leader and was given the role primarily due to his communication skills.
"There are no qualities to lead a team in an individual, neither he is a leader material... still he has been given the responsibilities," Younis said.
"Just because the people feel that ye hamari sunta hai, achha padha likha hai, ye English, Urdu, Pashto achhi bolta hai toh isko kaptaan bana do (He may not be a good player but if he listens to us, and speaks good English, Urdu and Pashto, so let's make him the captain). Please, get rid of this thinking," he added.
Meanwhile, PCB selectors have dropped senior batter Babar Azam for the remaining two Test matches against England.
Notably, Babar hasn't scored a half century in his last 18 Test innings. He scored just 35 runs across the two innings of the Multan Test against England.
Besides Babar, fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and reserve wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed have been left out of the 16-member squad as well.
Uncapped Haseebullah replaced Sarfaraz as Pakistan also brought in spinners Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mahmood to counter England’s top-order batters in the last two Test matches with slow bowlers. Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed was ruled out of the series after he was hospitalized during the first Test due to fever.
Another uncapped player, Kamran Ghulam, who has been scoring consistently in domestic cricket, will likely replace Babar at No. 4 and make his debut in the second Test, starting October 15 in Multan.