'Surprise Gift': Babar Azam Trolled As PAK vs ENG 2nd Test Gets Underway On His 30th Birthday After Being Dropped

With former Pakistan captain Babar Azam turning 30 on October 15 (Tuesday), netizens have trolled him for being dropped for the ongoing 2nd Test against England in Multan. Babar, once among the top five batters in the ICC Test rankings, proved to be one of the casualties of Pakistan's historic innings defeat to England in the first Test of the series.

The former Pakistan skipper managed only 35 runs in the opening Test on what was considered to be an excellent batting track in Multan. He has now gone without registering a half-century in 18 Test innings and is out of the remaining two matches against England. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah were other notable exclusions from the squad as the hosts aim to square the series.

With Babar's axing dividing the fans and experts, Pakistan assistant coach Azhar Mahmood asserted that the Lahore-born cricketer has been rested, with the national men's team facing a packed schedule in the following months. Mahmood had also stated that there is no doubt about Babar's technique and ability.

Here's how a section of netizens have reacted to Babar Azam's birthday:

Kamran Ghulam replaces Babar Azam at No.4:

Meanwhile, debutant and right-handed batter Kamran Ghulam has been called up to replace Babar at No.4 for the 2nd Test in Multan. The hosts have gone with three specialist spinners in Noman Ali, Zahid Mahmood and Sajid Khan.

Pakistan playing XI: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood.

England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

Pakistan skipper Shan Masood has won the toss in Multan and has opted to bat first.