'What Kind Of Authority Does He Have?' England Great Questions Babar Azam's Role Amid Pakistan Chaos

By Suresh

**The Conductor Without Baton: Babar's Authority in Question Amid PCB's Sudden Purge** Like a raga whose very structure has begun to unravel, Pakistan cricket now faces a dissonance that no amount of performance can easily resolve. Michael Atherton, the former England captain, has posed the question echoing through dressing rooms right now: *what kind of authority does Babar Azam actually hold?* **The Circumstance** The storm broke after Lord's. Following the heavy defeat to England, the PCB swept away almost half their Test squad — replacing seven players, head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed, and bowling coach Umar Gul. For Babar, standing at the crest of this upheaval, Atherton feels it is "a horrible position to be in as captain." **The Deeper Question** Atherton's concern runs deeper than a single series loss. "You're not going back 30 years when captains perhaps ran the show," he noted, "but they have to have some authority within a team." Given what's happened, he asks plainly — how does Babar lead that team now? **No Victory Can Mask It** Here is the melancholy truth Atherton sees: even if Pakistan somehow beat England in the third and final Test (starting Sept 9), the damage to the long-term vision remains. "This is no way to manage players and no way to build a long-term vision at all." Pakistan, now bottom of the WTC points table, have already fallen to England by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley, then by 194 at Lord's. As the final Test approaches, the rhythm of this team hangs in delicate balance. *What say you, friends? Can authority be rebuilt after such a purge, or is some damage permanent?* Source: NDTV Sports