Wasim Akram Slams Babar Azam After Pakistan’s England Debacle: ‘Were You There to Sell Chickpeas?’
Wasim Akram has questioned Babar Azam’s leadership after Pakistan’s chaotic England tour, taking a sarcastic dig at the former Pakistan captain’s claim that he was not aware of the sweeping changes made to the Test squad after the Lord’s defeat.
Pakistan’s disastrous tour ended with a 3-0 Test series whitewash at the hands of England, with the final match at Edgbaston finishing in an eight-wicket victory for the hosts. But the biggest talking point was not just Pakistan’s performance on the field. It was the extraordinary overhaul made after the second Test, when seven players were sent home and two members of the coaching staff were replaced.
Babar Azam later admitted that the changes came as a surprise to him. Speaking before the third Test, he said the squad reshuffle was “news to me” as well. That comment has now drawn a strong reaction from one of Pakistan cricket’s greatest fast bowlers, Wasim Akram.
Wasim Akram’s blunt question to Babar Azam
Speaking at an event in Manchester alongside former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis, Akram mocked Babar’s explanation about being unaware of the changes.
His point was simple: if the captain did not know what was happening inside his own Test squad, then what exactly was his role?
Akram sarcastically asked whether Babar was there to “sell chickpeas”, questioning how a captain could remain disconnected from major decisions affecting his own players.
The comment came after one of the most dramatic mid-series shake-ups in recent Pakistan Test history. Following the 194-run defeat at Lord’s, the Pakistan Cricket Board released seven players from the squad and also made changes to the coaching staff.
The seven players sent home were Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad. Sarfaraz Ahmed was removed as head coach, while bowling coach Umar Gul was also replaced. Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke took over the coaching responsibilities for the final Test.
Akram believes the episode exposed a bigger leadership problem rather than simply being a selection issue.
Akram questions Babar’s captaincy
Akram also suggested that Babar should have stepped away from the captaincy after Pakistan lost the second Test at Lord’s.
According to Akram, a player needs to feel that his captain is standing behind him, particularly when things are going badly. If players do not feel that support, he argued, it becomes difficult for them to give everything on the field.
Akram acknowledged that his opinion could be wrong, but maintained that Babar could have continued in the team purely as a batter instead of remaining captain.
The criticism is particularly significant because Babar had only recently returned to the Test captaincy. Pakistan Cricket Board had appointed him captain for the West Indies and England assignments in July, replacing Shan Masood.
His leadership comeback, however, quickly turned into another difficult chapter for Pakistan cricket.
Pakistan’s England tour turned into a complete collapse
The three-Test series began at Headingley, where England dominated Pakistan and won by an innings and 103 runs. Pakistan then suffered another heavy defeat at Lord’s, losing by 194 runs.
That result gave England an unassailable 2-0 lead and prompted the PCB to make sweeping changes before the final Test.
The scale of the changes was striking. Five of the seven players sent home had been involved in the England tour, while several replacements had little or no Test experience. The move effectively forced Pakistan to rebuild a significant part of their squad with the series already lost.
Yet the changes did not produce the turnaround the PCB wanted.
Pakistan were bowled out for only 133 in the first innings at Edgbaston, with Josh Tongue taking four wickets and Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer claiming three each. England eventually secured the victory by eight wickets.
Pakistan did show more fight in their second innings. Shan Masood scored 95, Babar made 76 and Razaullah struck an entertaining 81. Pakistan posted 449, but the total only delayed the inevitable.
England needed 130 to win and reached the target in just 24.2 overs. Joe Root finished unbeaten on 62 while Jordan Cox made an unbeaten 59.
The result completed England’s 3-0 sweep.
A nightmare for Pakistan in the World Test Championship
The series loss has also made Pakistan’s World Test Championship campaign considerably more difficult.
Pakistan entered the England series already sitting near the bottom of the WTC standings. After losing all three Tests, their position became even more precarious.
The situation worsened after the Birmingham Test when the ICC penalised Pakistan for maintaining a slow over-rate. The team was found to be 11 overs short of the required rate after allowances, resulting in an 11-point deduction and a 50% fine on the players’ match fees.
Pakistan were left with only five points from nine WTC matches and a points percentage of 4.63, putting them at the bottom of the standings.
That makes the England series more than just a 3-0 defeat. It has left Pakistan with a huge amount of work to do in the remainder of the championship cycle.
What happens to Babar Azam now?
Babar’s position remains one of the biggest talking points around Pakistan cricket.
Despite the criticism of his captaincy, his batting in the final Test showed that he can still make a contribution with the bat. His 76 came during Pakistan’s second-innings fightback, although it was not enough to prevent another defeat.
The bigger question is whether Pakistan should continue with Babar as captain or use him only as a specialist batter.
That debate has now been intensified by Akram’s comments. The former Pakistan great has essentially questioned whether a captain can effectively lead a team when he is not involved in major decisions concerning the squad.
For Pakistan, the challenge is bigger than one player. The team needs stability, clarity in selection and a clear leadership structure after a tour that saw players dropped, coaches replaced and the squad dramatically reshaped in the middle of a Test series.
The England whitewash has also exposed how little margin Pakistan currently have in the WTC. With the next home Test assignment against Sri Lanka scheduled for November, the team will have an opportunity to rebuild, but the pressure will be enormous.
Wasim Akram’s “chickpeas” comment may have been delivered with sarcasm, but it has opened up a serious conversation about leadership inside Pakistan cricket.
For Babar Azam, the question is no longer simply about runs or captaincy records. It is about whether he can have a clearly defined leadership role within a Pakistan setup that desperately needs stability.
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