{
  "id": 8718544,
  "title": "‘Were you here to sell chickpeas?’: Wasim Akram on Babar Azam",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/were-you-here-to-sell-chickpeas-wasim-akram-on-babar-azam",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-20T15:37:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/were-you-here-to-sell-chickpeas-wasim-akram-on-babar-azam-10886484/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Pakistan cricket recently found itself embroiled in turmoil, with the removal of seven players from the squad and the sack of coaches Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul following their series loss to England. Despite these changes, Pakistan succumbed to a 3-0 defeat in the series. Babar Azam, upon being asked about the team changes, stated that he was unaware of them. Former cricketer Wasim Akram criticized Babar's response, questioning whether he was aware of the changes or if he was merely there to sell \"chickpeas.\" Akram emphasized that if a leader or captain does not support you, you cannot give 100 percent. He suggested that Babar should not have taken the captaincy after the second Test and should have announced his intention to play only as a player. This controversy resulted in Pakistan being docked 11 World Test Championship points and fined 50 percent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate during the final Test against England. As a consequence, Pakistan's standing in the ongoing WTC cycle has dropped to ninth place, with their points percentage falling to 4.63.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}