Babar Azam Baffled By Excessive Security Precautions: Reports

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In the first hour of the second day of the third Test against England, Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam stayed off the field, ostensibly in opposition to overbearing security measures for the players and their families.

Babar reportedly became upset when he was prevented from leaving the team hotel on Saturday night to go out to supper with some other squad players and their families. Sarfaraz Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, and Imam-ul-Haq were scheduled to join Babar Azam and his families for supper at a nearby restaurant.

Although the two teams are receiving President level security for the series against England, security officers prevented him from leaving his hotel room and made it obvious that he and other players needed to get permission before making any moves. The captain got into a furious dispute with a senior official over the security measures, labeled them as invasive, and stormed back to his room.

PCB Gives Headache As An Excuse For Babar Azam’s Unavailability

According to reports, he reportedly refused to take the squad out for an hour on Sunday in protest at the behavior of the security guards. Instead, he reportedly stayed in the locker room.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on the other hand, has mostly been mute over the incident, however, the official explanation offered is that Babar arrived at the stadium with a bad headache, which prevented him from entering the field for the first hour.

Given that England is visiting Pakistan for a Test series after 17 years, President-level security is being provided for both Pakistan and England during the series. The PCB is unwilling to take any chances.

However, insiders claim that the players are now tired of the constant security that surrounds them and prevents them from leaving the team hotel without authorization.

“It is for their own good and Pakistan cricket,” one PCB source.

According to sources close to the players, it seems sensible to have strong security measures for the visiting team, but it seems unfair to the Pakistani players.

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