Babar Azam, the former skipper of Pakistan was excluded from the last two Tests against England, but this is the first time in his 54-Test career that Babar is "rested" from red-ball cricket. His recent performance has left cause for concern as Babar hasn't scored a half-century in his last 18 innings. In nine Tests this year, Babar averages just under 21. Joining Babar, the two pace bowlers, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, also withdrew themselves from the matches. Shaheen's form has been under question as he has been rested or dropped for the second Test against Bangladesh last month and the final Test in Sydney earlier this year. Overall, Pakistan has been a disappointing team. They scored more than 500 runs in the first innings but lost by an innings. Pakistan became the first team to lose a Test in an innings after it scored more than 500 runs. Fakhar Zaman Slams PCB for Resting Babar Azam Fakhar Zaman sharply criticized the decision to sit out Babar Azam. He took social media to exhibit his disappointment and compared Babar's situation with that of Virat Kohli in India. Though Virat Kohli failed on a successive scale from 2020 to 2022, no player was ever removed from the Indian side. Fakhar expressed concern at the fact that Babar Azam is being sat out. 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… — Fakhar Zaman (@FakharZamanLive) October 13, 2024 "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." He wrote on X. Also Read | Ajay Jadeja Surpasses Virat Kohli in Net Worth - Find Out How! Fakhar Zaman Faces Brutal Backlash for Comparing Virat Kohli with Babar Azam Virat Kohli at 22 won the WC, at 24 won CT, Test captain at 26 scored 4 centuries in Australia. 7 double centuries, 6 of them came in the span of 16 months. After all this he had a lean patch, not mentioning his heroics in between, comparing this to Babar is a serious offence. pic.twitter.com/S3dadbFu9V — Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 13, 2024 Audacity to compare Kohi and BabarKohli's legacy is better than the entire Pakistan pic.twitter.com/7AKc7nlNIE — Ash (@Ashsay_) October 13, 2024 Virat at 29 was already >>> entire Pakistan.This obsession with comparing with Virat destroyed Babar's whole career.Stick to your own cricket or else you'll meet the same fate.coz your career is also irrelevant outside that fluke CT 17 final in which a no ball saved you. pic.twitter.com/P2QWSoQvhI — Johns (@JohnyBravo183) October 13, 2024 Even taking Kohli's name in the same sentence as Babar is an insult to Kohli. Please make your comparisons by using names of players like Tatenda Taibu or Innocent Kaia — Roshan Rai (@RoshanKrRaii) October 13, 2024 Virat Kohli during 2020-2023 phaseMost runs in India tour of Australia. Most runs in England tour of IndiaMost runs in Ind vs Pak 2021 WCGood test series in South Africa Most runs in Asia cup 2022. Most runs in WT20 2022Meanwhile Babar Azam is good for nothing in the… — Pari (@BluntIndianGal) October 13, 2024 Did you knowVirat Kohli’s rough patch >>>>> Babar Azam’s whole career. — rae (@ChillamChilli) October 13, 2024 The talk is about Babar, why do you bring Kohli into the picture? Why is everything about India in your country? — Lord Immy Kant (Eastern Exile) (@KantInEast) October 13, 2024 Virat vs Zimbabar 😂😂 @FakharZamanLive now see the comparison pic.twitter.com/4HiKJMgCTq — Arvind kannaujiya AK94 (@Asliarvind1) October 13, 2024 SENA countries centuries Whole team = Virat Kohli 👑 pic.twitter.com/PQNrRiZOmP — Arvind kannaujiya AK94 (@Asliarvind1) October 13, 2024 Only in Pakistan will you see, an active cricketer is defending one of their teammates on social media because he is dropped. 😂 — Aditya Saha (@Adityakrsaha) October 13, 2024 Even in the lean phase of Virat Kohli, he was scoring at an average of 46 to 50, so their is no need to drag King Kohli to overshadow Babar Azam's Failure since 2023. A player who haven't scored a single 50 in last 18 innings needs to be dropped, that's it. https://t.co/kyMgCUvlZL — Ajay Jadeja (@AjayJadeja171) October 13, 2024 Comparing bad form between Babar Azam & Kohli after rumours the Pakistan legend will be dropped for the 2nd test v England is baseless. India: 2nd best win % during Kohli's draught. Pakistan: 2nd worst win % through Babar's.Hard decisions need to be made!#ENGvsPAK #IINDvAUS pic.twitter.com/LfOFj8siF5 — JassPreet (@JassPreet96) October 14, 2024 Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has scored 8947 runs in his 115 Test matches and he has scored 29 centuries and 30 half-centuries in his career in this format.