Babar Azam has denied rumors that Pakistan might have considered walking off, refusing to play, after lunch on the opening day of the Lord’s Test against England, which followed a disagreement over a Sky Sports interview with the sons of former Pakistan captain and prime minister Imran Khan.
Babar, after Pakistan’s 194-run loss at Lord’s on Sunday, mentioned that he did not know about any team discussions about going off the field after lunch.
While talking to BBC’s Test Match Special, Babar said, “No, no, no. I haven’t heard that thing.”
Imran Khan Sons Interview Controversy at Lord’s
Reports say that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had thought about the situation where the team might not come back for the afternoon if Sky Sports decided to proceed with its planned programme about Sulaiman, one of Imran Khan’s sons, and Kasim Khan, another one of Imran Khan’s family.
The interview featuring England’s former captain, Michael Atherton, went ahead during the first day’s lunch break, and the 18-minute programme mainly focused on Imran Khan’s sons’ concerns about the treatment, the health status, and imprisonment of their father.
After hearing about these tensions around the programme, the Pakistan team came back to the stadium as usual, and there was no halt to the Test at all.
ENG vs PAK: England Win Series at Lord’s
England clinched a resounding 194-run triumph to take an unbeatable 2-0 series advantage in the three-Test series. The Pakistani side was put to the effort of scoring 389, but they crumbled for 194 as a result. Saud Shakeel remained stranded at 97 runs, while a century was just three shots away for him from being within touching distance for Pakistan. It was also unfortunate for the opener Imam-ul-Haq as he got a calf injury while fielding on the opening day, and then he was ruled out of batting.
The win marked the return of the English team after their last series victory was in December 2024. Now the teams are expected to play in the third and final Test, which will be hosted at Edgbaston, Birmingham, beginning on September 9.