“Well played” - Babar Azam praises his replacement Kamran Ghulam for smashing maiden ton on debut in PAK vs ENG 2024 2nd Test

Former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam lavished praise on Kamran Ghulam for hitting a ton in his maiden Test appearance against England on Tuesday (October 15). Notably, Babar was dropped for the ongoing second Test fixture in Multan due to his disappointing form, and Ghulam was announced as his replacement.

The first Test saw Babar return with scores of 30 & 5 on a flat surface, where England dominated the home team. The right-hander now has gone 18 consecutive innings without a 50 in the longest format.

Along with him, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were also rested for the second Test. The first Test saw Afridi take a solitary wicket, while Shah picked up two wickets. Interestingly, both players contributed more with the bat than Babar Azam, scoring 36 runs and 39 runs, across both innings, respectively. In place of them, Noman Ali and Zahid Mehmood found a place in the XI.

Batting first on Tuesday, Pakistan started off on a bad note, losing Abdullah Shafique (7) and Shan Masood (3) early. Coming at No. 4, debutant Kamran Ghulam stabilized the team and constructed a 149-run stand with Saim Ayub (77). Thereafter, Ghulam went on to hit his maiden hundred and celebrated the achievement.

Interestingly, Ghulam's gesture towards the stands indicated the presence of family members, who were seen getting emotional and sharing warm hugs with each other.

After the day's play, Babar Azam put out an Instagram story, praising the performance of Kamran Ghulam. He captioned the story:

"Well played Kamran!"

Babar Azam's story for Kamran Ghulam (Image by @babarazam on Instagram)

Ghulam was dismissed on 118 off 224, as Pakistan ended Day 1 on 259/5. Jack Leach picked up two wickets for the visitors.

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Kamran Ghulam has been a credible player in Pakistan domestic circuit

The 29-year-old batter made his domestic debut in 2013 and since then has been a consistent performer. In 59 first-class appearances, Kamran Ghulam has amassed 4,377 runs at an average of 49.17, with 16 centuries.

Ghulam etched his name into the history books in the 2020/21 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He slammed 1,249 runs at an average of 62.45 and broke the record of scoring most runs in a single season of the tournament. Since then, there have been many occasions where he has been slotted in the national squad. However, he finally made his debut in the ongoing second Test against England.

Meanwhile, Ghulam holds an average of over 40 in List-A format, scoring 3,344 runs in 94 games. In 73 T20s, he has garnered 1,510 runs at an average of 28.