Pakistan’s red-ball captain Shan Masood suggested that Babar Azam could benefit from a break following his exclusion from the national Test squad. Shan expressed support for the batter, hoping a brief rest would help him regain top form.
After stepping down from the captaincy across all formats last year due to Pakistan's failure to reach the knockout stage of the ODI World Cup, Babar resumed leadership in white-ball cricket in March for the T20 World Cup.
However, the team did not advance past the Super Eight. His recent form slump continued, and last month, he relinquished the captaincy once more before being dropped for the second and third Tests against England in October, having scored only 35 runs across both innings in Pakistan’s first-Test loss.
Despite his temporary absence from the Test squad, the 30-year-old has been named in Pakistan’s ODI and T20 squads for their upcoming tour of Australia.
In an interview on BBC’s 'Stumped' podcast, Shan shared his confidence in Babar's abilities, saying, “I think he's one of the best batsmen in the world. I'm nobody to deny him a future. He has every quality to be one of the greatest batsmen in Test cricket.
"He's always there or thereabouts in the rankings. Sometimes, people need a break. I personally think this break will do him a great deal of benefit and he'll come back a stronger player.
"There's no harm in being pulled out at times and having a breather. He's played a lot of cricket and gone through a lot, and he'll always be one of the main batsmen to play for Pakistan."
Pakistan's next Test series will be against South Africa in December.
