Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman faced backlash on social media after he compared teammate Babar Azam with India’s star batter Virat Kohli.

Fakhar suggested PCB to keep Babar in the Pakistan squad for the second and third Tests against England despite his series of failures in recent years.

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, which Pakistan lost by an innings and 47 runs to concede a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Fakhar compared Babar's lean patch with Virat Kohli's tough time between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21 and 26.50, respectively.

“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,” Fakhar wrote on X.

His post wasn’t well received by the netizens and they trolled the southpaw mercilessly after PCB selectors dropped Babar Azam from the Pakistan squad for the remaining Test matches against England.

Here are the reactions:

Besides Babar, fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and reserve wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed were also released from the 16-member squad for the remainder of the Test series against England.

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.