Babar’s fall from grace!

Just two years ago, he stood atop the world as Pakistan's captain and the top-rated batsman across all formats. Fast forward to now, Babar Azam will celebrate his 30th birthday at home while the second Test against England kicks off in Multan. How the mighty have fallen!

On Sunday, Pakistan's selectors, in a move reminiscent of a dramatic plot twist, decided to omit Azam from the squad for the second Test. Because he hasn't managed to score fifty runs in his last 18 Test innings.

This marks the first time Azam has been dropped from the national team since he graced the field for his white-ball debut against Zimbabwe in 2015, and his Test debut against the West Indies a year later. It is a remarkable fall from grace for someone who was once the poster child of Pakistani cricket.

Pakistan's Babar Azam (bottom) falls on the ground while fielding the ball. Pic/AFP

Babar first burst onto the scene in 2016, dazzling everyone with three consecutive centuries in an ODI series against the West Indies. His stardom continued to rise, culminating in his ascendance to the coveted position of world number one ODI batsman, a title he claimed from none other than India's Virat Kohli, quite the feather in his cap. Even now, he clings to that top spot, though he did briefly lose it in the interim.

Meanwhile, he remains a respectable fourth among Twenty20 batsmen. However, it is the Test format where his form has taken a nosedive, causing him to tumble out of the world's top 10.

Let us take a stroll down memory lane. Picture a 13-year-old Azam serving as a ball boy during a Test match against South Africa in Lahore in 2007. There he was, starstruck, watching his idol AB de Villiers. Who would have thought that from the streets of Lahore, he would rise to prominence, playing in the Under-19 World Cup?

In New Zealand, he topped the batting charts for Pakistan with 298 runs. Fast forward two years to the U19 World Cup in Australia, where he captained the team and again emerged as the leading run-scorer with 287 runs. The future seemed bright, with Azam poised to take the cricketing world by storm.

He made his senior team debut in 2015 and quickly became a sensation in white-ball cricket. As he transformed into a modern-day great across all formats, comparisons with Kohli became inevitable. But the pressure of captaining a struggling team began to take its toll on Azam's form, and that's where the plot thickens.

His partnership with Mohammad Rizwan in T20s has been nothing short of legendary, amassing 3,268 runs in just 70 innings, the most prolific pair in T20 history. Who could forget the T20 World Cup win over arch-rivals India in 2021? Azam anchored that match, proving to be the linchpin of the team. And let us not overlook his monumental innings of 196 against Australia's fearsome bowling attack, which included Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Nathan Lyon. That performance was hailed as one of the greatest innings in Pakistan's cricketing history. But, alas, the weight of captaincy on a faltering team became a burden too heavy to bear, leading to a decline in his prowess with the willow.

Following Pakistan's disastrous first-round exit from the 50-over World Cup in India last November, where they shockingly lost to Afghanistan for the first time, Azam made the brave decision to step down from captaincy across all formats. When the Pakistan Cricket Board underwent a change in hierarchy in April, Azam was reinstated as white-ball captain. But this tenure proved to be fleeting, as his side suffered a humiliating defeat to Ireland before crashing out of the T20 World Cup in June, thanks to unexpected losses to the USA and India.

By early this month, Azam resigned as white-ball captain for a second time. But the real trouble began in the Test arena, where his form completely abandoned him. A dismal showing in the series defeat against Bangladesh saw him score a mere 64 runs over four innings. In the first Test against England, he managed scores of 30 and 5 on what was otherwise a perfect batting wicket in Multan. With the newly formed selection panel making swift decisions, it was no surprise that Azam was left out of the squad for the second Test, despite receiving a vote of confidence from captain Shan Masood and coach Jason Gillespie.

On Sunday, an emotional Azam was seen engaging in a heartfelt discussion with Gillespie at Multan Stadium before departing for his journey back to Lahore. One can only wonder what words were exchanged. Was it a farewell? A moment of reflection? Or perhaps just an acknowledgment of the stark reality he now faces? The break from cricket might just be around, who knows! This could be an opportunity for him to rest, reflect, and recuperate after two grueling years of mental, emotional, and physical strain at the forefront of a struggling team.