Last Updated on 1 month by Charbel Coorey
The Pakistan team management dropped seasoned stars Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan from their squad for the Asia Cup 2025, which is due to begin next month.
The axing of the two right-handed batters marks a significant switch under the watch of head coach Mike Hesson, with the think-tank looking beyond reputations to finalise their roster in the build-up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup that will be held next year.
Both these players have been sidelined from the first-team setup in the shortest format since the T20Is against South Africa in 2024. Instead, the focus has been rested on giving chances to the likes of Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman, whose batting styles resonate more with the demands of T20 cricket.
Hesson indicated that Babar needs to uplift his game in certain areas, such as his scoring rate against spinners. The Kiwi has spearheaded the Pakistani team to T20I series victories against Bangladesh and West Indies in his brief tenure so far.
“At the moment, the players that we have, (they) have performed exceptionally well,” Hesson said regarding Farhan, Ayub and Zaman. “But certainly a player like Babar has an opportunity to play in the BBL and start to show that he’s improving in those areas in T20s. He’s too good a player for us not to consider.”
Fans react to experienced Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan left out of Pakistan Asia Cup squad
Here’s a brief look at how fans and experts reacted on X (formerly Twitter) to this latest development.
How have Babar and Rizwan performed in T20Is?
Babar has a career T20I average of 39.84 with a strike rate of approximately 129.22, including three centuries. Rizwan has a T20I average of stellar 47.42 with a strike rate of about 125.38. He holds the record for the most runs in T20Is in a calendar year, with 1326 runs in 2021. Together, they have formed one of the most successful opening partnerships in the format, but a recent inability to keep up with the demands of the shortest format led to their eventual sidelining from the squad.
