Distraught Babar Azam consoled by Jason Gillespie and Shan Masood on camera; Pakistan coaches criticize PCB actions.

The PCB's decision elicited strong backlash on social media, particularly following statements from captain Shan Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie advocating for consistency in selection despite a string of defeats, including a demoralizing whitewash against Bangladesh at home in late August.

Amid PCB's act, a video went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing a distraught Babar being comforted by Gillespie, his assistant coach Azhar Mahmood and Masood in the Pakistan dugout. Although the video, released by 'Events & Happenings Sports' on YouTube, had no audio clarifying the conversation between Gillespie and Babar, but the clip did show that he looked disgruntled and baffled.

Babar's loss of form has been well documented. Having last scored a half-century-plus score against England in December 2022, with a 161-run knock in Karachi, the former Pakistan captain, who was present in Multan on Sunday and was seen conversing with his teammates and assessing the pitch, went 18 straight innings without a fifty in Test cricket. During the period, he scored just 366 runs at 20.33.

Although not taking his name, Javed, one of the selectors, explained that loss of form resulted in the omission of the aforementioned three players.

"We are confident that this break from international cricket will help these players regain their fitness, confidence and composure, ensuring they return in top shape for future challenges," he said. "They remain some of our finest talents with much more to contribute to Pakistan cricket. We are fully committed to supporting them during this period so they can come back even stronger."