Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman finds himself in hot soup for making a social media post questioning the selection panel's decision to sideline Babar Azam from the Test side.

According to a Cricbuzz report, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued a show cause notice to Fakhar for his post supporting Babar.

The selectors dropped Babar when they announced the squad for the remaining two home Tests against England on Sunday (October 13).

Minutes before the announcement of the squad, Fakhar had tweeted: “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 has ever produced, it could send a deeply negative message across the team. There is still time to avoid pressing the panic button; we should focus on safeguarding our key players rather than undermining them.”

The report further claimed that the PCB has given Fakhar Zaman a week to respond to their show cause notice.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan suffered an innings and 47-run defeat at the hands of England in opening Test in Multan despite posting 556 in their first dig.

The Shan Masood-led side is facing a must-win situation in the second game to avoid another Test series loss on home soil.

Ahead of the second Test, the PCB selectors took some bold calls. Besides Babar, fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and reserve wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed were also left out of the 16-member squad.

Having made several changes to their side, Pakistan will be eager to bounce back in the second Test, starting from October 15 at the same venue.