‘Please end these petty talks’ – Amir tears into Babar Azam’s critics after Pakistan end win drought vs ENG

Pakistan beat England by 152 runs to win the second Test in Multan, their first home win in four years and under Shan Masood’s captaincy. The protagonists, however, were the two spinners, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, who were included in the side following Pakistan’s embarrassing loss in the first match, alongside debutant Kamran Ghulam, who slammed his maiden Test ton.

Following the formation of the new selection committee, chaired by ex-cricketer Aaqib Javed, the PCB and Pakistan Cricket took some stern calls after the first Test loss by dropping Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah. Though it made headlines worldwide, this decision paid dividends, as three of the four changes for the next game helped them win a home Test after a long time.

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Meanwhile, Mohammad Amir backed his former captain by asking Babar's critics and section of Pakistan Cricket fans to show some grace and stop the petty blame game. Amir took to social media to silence Babar’s critics, saying Pakistan didn’t win because they didn’t have Babar on the playing XI but because they planned better and played as a unit and delivered.

“Please end these petty talks that the team won because Babar or other players were not in the team. We played with better planning, took the home advantage and won. You can talk based on performance but please don't get personal with players,” Amir wrote on X.

The fans came down hard on Babar after he failed to score on a flat Multan wicket in the first Test, where his counterparts – England’s Joe Root and Harry Brook slammed 262 and 317, respectively. Though Pakistan scored a massive 556 in the first innings, thanks to centuries by Masood and all-rounder Salman Agha, Babar hit just 35 runs across both innings.

Sajid and Noman hit gold in the second Test

Two spinners, Sajid and Noman, picked 20 wickets between them in the second Test, becoming the second Pakistani pair and seventh overall to achieve this feat. While Sajid picked seven wickets in the first innings, the left-arm spinner Noman returned with his career-best figures of eight for 46 in the next.

In the batting order, Salman continued his impressive run, with the middle order chipping in with crucial contributions throughout.

Meanwhile, with the series now tied at 1-1, Rawalpindi will hostthe decider starting October 24.

(With inputs from agencies)