Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan batting together. (FILE photo)Though Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are prolific run scorers in the T20 format and have had their fair share of good knocks along the way for Pakistan, the question that was always hanging around was whether the tempo with which they score runs is enough for the modern T20Is. Are their runs acting as help or hindrance to the side? Former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram agreed with Pakistan’s decision to drop both the veterans from the Asia Cup 2025 squad.
“I think this team is doing OK. They have given enough chances to Babar and Rizwan as openers for 4 or 5 years. They did well, but not as well, not as consistently, and hence the new boys,” Wasim Akram said, speaking on Sony Sports.
“Babar is not there, Rizwan is not there. I think the idea was to move on from them, to go to these youngsters. They’ve done well, haven’t been consistent, but at least they have the right mindset. They don’t have a fear of losing. When you have a fear of losing, you buckle under pressure. So these guys, they might lose, but I think Salman Agha is a good captain,” he added.
During the squad announcement, Head Coach Mike Hesson called out Babar Azam to improve his strike rate, after the batter has been omitted from the squad. “I think it’s really harsh to challenge a player on their form in three games,” he said at a press conference. “Babar played nicely in the first ODI but missed out on the next two. There’s no doubt Babar’s been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate. Those are things he’s working really hard on,” Hesson said.
“Calling them key players would be wrong and unfair. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are not Pakistan cricket’s key players at the moment. Key players are those who win matches for Pakistan,” Hafeez said on his YouTube channel. “If we look at the past year and a half to two years, the players showing consistent performance are Salman Ali Agha, Saim Ayub and Hasan Nawaz. Why aren’t we talking about them? They are the current players winning matches for Pakistan,” said Mohammed Hafeez speaking on his YouTube channel.
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