In a surprising decision, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has excluded star batsman Babar Azam from the Test squad for the second match against England. This move marks a significant shift by the newly formed national selection committee of the PCB.

Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja criticized the PCB's decision, describing it as a "knee-jerk reaction. During a discussion on Sky Cricket, he stated, "I think it was a knee-jerk reaction by the new selectors. The general opinion was that he needed rest and he was taken out of the squad completely."

Raja emphasized Babar's importance to cricket in Pakistan, asserting, "We need to understand that he sells cricket for Pakistan. There's always this debate that is happening right now in Pakistan - whether there's going to be another failure for Babar Azam or whether he's going to make a comeback. And that keeps things interesting."

Babar is not the only prominent player omitted, as both Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah have also been dropped. Raja expressed concern that the absence of these three stars leaves Pakistan's lineup lacking "sellable commodities," which could negatively impact sponsorship opportunities.

"Right now, I don't see any sellable commodity in this Pakistan team ... sponsors are a little wary as well because a) Pakistan have been on the losing sequence and b) There are no real superstars playing in this Test match now."

Babar has failed to score a half-century in his last 18 test innings, with a highest score of 41 against Australia in Melbourne last year.

Assistant coach Azhar Mahmood said Babar will return to the side after the series against England as Pakistan has a busy schedule in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa before hosting West Indies in two tests early next year.

“We have a very busy FTP (Future Tours Program)," Mahmood said. 

"There's a lot of cricket coming up...the selection committee thought to give Babar rest so that he comes back fresh. I am quite close to Babar and I know there's lots of things going on in his mind.”

Except for Babar, Pakistan has kept faith in the batting line-up that scored 556 and 220 in the first test.