Babar Azam: Pakistan captain in fight with security issues in the England series

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Pakistan captain Babar Azam stayed off the field for the first hour of the third test against England on Monday, apparently to protest against intrusive security measures for the Pakistani players and their families.

Babar Azam has been angry with the security measures from last week when he was denied from going out from a dinner with the team and their families on Saturday from the team hotel.

Babar had planned to go out to dinner with Sarfaraz Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, and Imam-ul-Haq with their families at a local restaurant.

But when he came down from his hotel room, the security personnel stopped him from going outside making it clear that he and other players had to seek prior clearance about their movements as the teams are under President-level security for the test series.

The Pakistan captain was not amused by the strict security measures and was involved in a heated argument with senior security personnel, before storming off to the hotel. He subsequently decided not to come out for the first hour on the second day to protest against the behaviour of the security officer.

PCB have mostly remained silent on the issue and their official verdict was that Babar had a severe headache while going to the ground and which led to his absence for the first hour of the match.

The security for both teams is of supreme strictness as PCB are leaving no stones unturned to provide maximum security for the players. But reports from the inside sources have revealed players have left frustrated because of their round-to-clock security which have stopped them from going out of the hotel without prior clearance and permission.

Pakistan have already lost the test series against England as the visitors have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead after the first two matches. Pakistan are also on the backfoot in the third test as England need 55 runs only to complete the whitewash.