Babar Azam Meets King Charles Amidst Pakistan's Troubling England Tour
On a grey London afternoon, Babar Azam walked through the gates of Clarence House carrying a gift that usually belongs in the middle of a Test match, not a royal residence.
Pakistan’s Test captain met King Charles III on Wednesday and presented him with a cricket bat signed by the entire touring squad, a moment of ceremony and courtesy set against the backdrop of one of Pakistan’s most bruising trips to England in recent memory.
Babar arrived with his teammates and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi on September 2, the squad briefly trading dressing rooms and net sessions for chandeliers and royal protocol. The King received a bat inked with every player’s signature, a symbolic gesture of respect from a team under heavy scrutiny.
Outside the palace walls, the story is far harsher.
A tour in freefall
England have already sealed the three-Test series with a ruthless efficiency that has left Pakistan reeling. An innings and 103-run hammering in the first Test was followed by a 194-run defeat in the second, handing the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead.
The numbers are stark. Across four completed innings, Pakistan have not once reached 200. Their batting, traditionally volatile but often explosive, has simply collapsed. Scorecards have read like post-mortems rather than contests.
The pressure finally broke the touring party wide open.
The PCB has swung the axe, recalling seven players, among them Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha and injured opener Imam-ul-Haq. The shake-up has not been limited to the playing XI. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul have both been removed before the final Test, a dramatic mid-series intervention that underlines just how rattled the setup has become.
In their place, white-ball coach Mike Hesson and bowling coach Ashley Noffke have been handed the reins for the third Test in Birmingham, starting September 9. It is a short runway for a new voice, but Pakistan have gambled on change over continuity.
Captain under the microscope
Amid all this, Babar himself stands in the eye of the storm.
His return as Test captain, once framed as a stabilising move, now faces pointed questions. A finger injury kept him out of the first Test, and his comeback at Lord’s brought no relief. He managed just 8 and 6, as Pakistan folded for 110 in the first innings and 194 in pursuit of 389.
Lord’s, a ground where great batters often reset their stories, only deepened his troubles. Babar has now gone 18 Test innings without a fifty. Since the start of 2023, across nine Tests, his average has slipped below 21 — a brutal comedown for a player once bracketed among the elite across formats.
When a captain’s runs dry up, the debate rarely stays tactical. Leadership, selection, even the broader direction of the team all get dragged into the same conversation. That is exactly where Pakistan find themselves now.
Royal courtesy, harsh reality
The visit to King Charles offered a rare, polished interlude in a chaotic tour. Cameras captured smiles, a signed bat changed hands, and Pakistan’s players briefly stepped into a different kind of spotlight.
But when they walk out at Edgbaston on September 9, there will be no ceremony to soften the glare. A reshaped squad, a revamped coaching group, and a captain battling his own form will have to answer a simple, unforgiving question: can Pakistan salvage anything from a series that has already slipped away?
