Babar Azam Denies Lord's Boycott Plot as Pakistan Prepare to Meet King Charles

Babar breaks his silence

Babar Azam has moved to shut down the row that engulfed Pakistan's tour of England, flatly denying that the PCB ever seriously considered pulling the team out of the Lord's Test over the Imran Khan interview controversy. Confronted directly on the subject in the wake of Pakistan's series-sealing defeat to England, Babar told reporters 'I have not' when asked if any boycott plan was discussed in the dressing room, insisting the squad stayed focused on cricket even as the story swirled around them.

It caps a chaotic few days in which claims of a threatened walkout, reportedly sparked by anger over Sky Sports' handling of an Imran Khan interview, dominated the build-up to what turned into a batting horror show at Lord's. Babar has now been asked about it repeatedly across multiple outlets, and each time his answer has been the same: there was no boycott plot, and the real story was Pakistan's collapse with the bat.

Why this matters

The denial is significant because it draws a line under a saga that threatened to overshadow the cricket itself and embarrass the PCB on English soil. Pakistan lost the Test and with it the WTC series to England, a result that leaves Babar under fresh scrutiny over tactics and his side's inability to respond under pressure, on top of the swirling politics around Imran Khan's continued presence as a talking point wherever Pakistan cricket goes.

Yet in a striking twist, the same tour that produced boycott rumours and a Lord's meltdown will now end with Pakistan's players granted an audience with King Charles. That meeting, coming so soon after the ugliest week of the tour, looks designed to smooth over the diplomatic awkwardness and send the squad home on a dignified note rather than amid accusations of protest and disrespect towards their hosts.

What happens next

For Babar, the denials will only go so far to quiet critics who feel his captaincy and tactical approach were exposed at Lord's regardless of any boycott chatter. The PCB will hope the royal meeting draws a symbolic close to the Imran Khan saga, but questions over dressing-room unity and whether players genuinely considered a walkout are unlikely to disappear quietly, especially with Pakistan cricket's habit of leaking such stories after the fact. Expect the focus now to shift to Babar's future in the format and whether this series defines the next chapter of his leadership, even as Pakistan's players smile for the cameras at the Palace.