Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has used debutant Razaullah’s blistering innings of 81 runs off 63 balls to criticise the intent of national team captain Babar Azam, who managed to score 76 off 103 in the second innings of Pakistan’s third Test against England at Edgbaston.

Razaullah was one of the seven players that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sent to England in an extraordinary overhaul of the team after they lost the Lord’s Test.

After scoring 11 runs in Pakistan’s first innings and then picking up four wickets with the ball, he came in to bat in the second innings with Pakistan staring at an innings defeat with the scoreline reading 312 for 7. Skipper Babar had departed while Azan Awais and Shan Masood had also departed after scoring half centuries. The debutant took control of the game.

All 8 sixes of Razaullah Today pic.twitter.com/3rsxElqoxw

— Jered William Jr. (@Jeredwilliam) September 11, 2026

Three of his sixes came in the same over against Gus Atkinson. Of the nine sixes he hit in the second innings, eight came off pacers. Razaullah equalled the Test cricket record for most sixes in an innings on debut.

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Pakistan’s Razaullah reacts after being stumped by England’s Jordan Cox with batting partner Mohammad Ali on day three of the third cricket Test between England and Pakistan in Birmingham. (PA via AP)

In an appearance on the Outside EDGE show, when Akhtar was told that while Razaullah had hit eight sixes against pace bowling in his debut Test, Babar hit his career first six against pace in Tests, he said: “One of those two has played just one Test match, while another has played 70 Tests (Babar has played 65 Tests). Just look at the intent, man! Look at how good the intent of the guy playing his first Test match is. What intent, man! Does he have any fear? And was it necessary for anyone to tell him, ‘Son, you have to save your spot in the team’? Nobody sent him out there saying that. He said, ‘I bowl fast, I bat well, I’ve come here to play fearlessly, I’ve come here to express myself, to take my place in the team… the spot will take care of itself automatically, I didn’t come here just to save my spot. If a guy playing in his first Test can show such intent why can’t those who have played 60-70 Tests for Pakistan?”

While many former cricketers in Pakistan have criticised the PCB for making seven changes in the middle of the tour, Akhtar has maintained that what the PCB did was right and that only PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi and selector Aaqib Javed could save Pakistan cricket.

“It was a lack of intent that led to seven players being replaced, and in the coming days, they will replace seven more. I am giving you this guarantee because of the mindset I’ve seen first-hand. A lot of people said I’m advocating for the PCB, suggesting that maybe the PCB Chairman or Aaqib told me to say this. Nobody told me anything. I am sharing my belief based on the plan they presented to me. On that basis, I’m telling you that over the next 6 to 7 months—if not by the end of this year at the earliest—they will prepare roughly 300 to 400 players for you who will play with great intent, with an exciting intent. They will show you what Pakistan cricket is really all about, just like Razaullah showed you. This is just one example; the best is yet to come.”

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Akhtar continued his praise for the PCB for making the bold decision to remove seven players mid-tour.

“I think they knew one thing for sure: that the players who were playing earlier couldn’t deliver, nor were they going to change their mindset. They wanted to move forward with a new mindset, with young blood, and with players they know and have trained—players who will play the kind of cricket we actually need. There was a refusal to play that brand of cricket. So they replaced seven players. Honestly speaking, the PCB vented their frustration, and it was totally justified. Their explanation made sense, and they did the right thing by deciding, ‘We need to send kids who go out there with courage and prove that we’re here to put up a fight. We haven’t come here to lose, score personal runs, or just save our spots.’ So I think it was a good call,” Akhtar said.