Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were snubbed from Pakistan’s Asia Cup 2025 squad that was named last week. Rizwan and Babar found no spot in the team despite being the top two run-getters in T20I cricket for Pakistan.
Both were snubbed from the last T20I series Pakistan played against West Indies. Both did not find a place in the T20I series against Bangladesh as well.
Babar Azam has scored 4223 runs from 128 T20Is for Pakistan. His teammate Mohammad Rizwan has scored 3414 runs from 106 T20Is. Without the experienced duo, Pakistan’s batting lineup looks very different and very inexperienced.
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I Don't Have Even 1 Percent Role In Team Selection - Mohsin Naqvi
Pakistan will be led by Salman Ali Agha in the Asia Cup, beginning September 9. The side are placed in Group A alongside India, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. During Pakistan’s squad announcement, head coach Mike Hesson and chief selector Aqib Javed that the duo have been asked to work on their strike rate.
Since dropping the two batters from the Asia Cup squad, PCB has received continuous criticism from their fans and even their former cricketers. Meanwhile, PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi has spoken for the first time since the Pakistan team was announced for the Asia Cup.
“First of all, I don’t have even 1 per cent role in putting players into the team or taking them out. We have a selection committee and then an advisory body; they all sit together. The process goes through a lot — discussions that last 8–10 hours, sometimes for 2–3 days,” Naqvi told local reporters, according to the Times of India.
“Definitely, if a team is being selected, it’s in good hands; all professionals are there. I’ve only told them one thing — whatever decision they take, it should be on merit, and I will support that,” he further added.
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Aqib Javed's Blunt Take On Babar, Rizwan's Snub
Pakistan’s Chief Selector Aqib Javed backed Babar and Rizwan’s exclusion, saying that the current team has better players than Babar and Rizwan at the moment. He further said that the duo will need to perform in domestic cricket to return to the T20I side.
“It is not impossible that Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan will never play T20Is. We are not writing them off. At the moment, we have some players such as Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, and Sahibzada Farhan. The players who are performing only those will play. We have some good choices, and it is a good thing for our cricket,” said Javed.
Pakistan's squad for Asia Cup: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufyan Muqim.
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