pakistan cricket Often remains surrounded in controversies. The team attracts attention less by its performance but more by its controversies. Meanwhile, a new controversy has emerged regarding the fitness level of senior players. PCB’s medical panel suspects that senior batsmen Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman, selected for the T20 World Cup 2026, were not fully fit.
According to sources, the seriousness of the injuries of Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman was not fully revealed at the time of selection. The board has constituted a team of experts to investigate the matter, which includes Sports Physiotherapy and Medical Director Dr. Javed Mughal.
Sources close to the PCB said that Britain-based Dr. Javed Mughal expressed serious concerns during the fitness test of both the players after the World Cup. Babar refused to play in the National T20 Championship citing a hamstring injury, while Fakhar was also struggling with similar problems. The source said, “When Babar was examined, it was found that his injury was more serious than initially thought. Fakhar had also been suffering from the same problem for months.”
The national selection committee told the medical panel that permission to include Babar and Fakhar in the World Cup squad was given by Pakistan team physiotherapist Cliff Deacon. However, according to the allegations, Deacon had previously allowed players with minor injuries to play due to close relationships.
Currently, Babar Azam is undergoing rehabilitation under the supervision of the medical panel at the National Cricket Academy. It is expected that he will enter the field captaining Peshawar Zalmi in Pakistan Super League (PSL). PSL is starting from 26th March. Fakhar recently participated in a match of the National T20 Cup and told on social media that he is now completely fit for the T20 tournament. However, during the Bangladesh tour, both the players were dropped from the team due to injury.
