Pakistan star batter Babar Azam was conspicuous by his absence from the team’s training and there was no clarity on his availability for the Champions Trophy clash against India here on Sunday even as the country’s cricket board chief Mohsin Naqvi urged the side to win “at any cost”.
Speculation is rife that he may be not be considered for the match after he was not seen at the practice session on Saturday evening. The practice was attended by PCB chief Naqvi and Azam was the only player who chose to take the day off.
Azam copped a lot of criticism for a 94-ball 64 in the 60-run loss to New zealand in the opening match. He was lambasted for failing to accelerate while the asking rate crept up in the chase of 320 runs in Karachi. PTI