Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan Fail to Make it to the Pakistan T20 Asia Cup Squad, Mohammad Wasim Added

Pakistan's top two T20I run-scorers are Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, with Azam leading at 4,223 runs and Rizwan following with 3,414 runs.

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan Fail to Make it to the Pakistan T20 Asia Cup Squad, Mohammad Wasim Added

Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam have been left out of Pakistan's T20I squad for the 2025 Asia Cup. (via ESPN Cricinfo)

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Veteran Pakistani batting stars Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan failed to make it into the T20I squad for the upcoming 2025 Asia Cup in the UAE. Meanwhile, 23-year-old fast bowler Mohammad Wasim Jr. will make his return to the national T20I team, after a long while.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the 17-member squad for the 2025 Asia Cup, which is set to begin on September 9. Pakistan, placed in Group A, will start its campaign on September 12 against Oman in Dubai. Their next match, and their most difficult challenge, will be against arch-rivals India on September 14. Pakistan will finish its group stage matches by facing hosts UAE on September 17.

Salman Ali Agha will continue as the captain of Pakistan’s T20I side. The 31-year-old all-rounder was named the skipper of the national T20I team back in March 2025, taking over from Mohammad Rizwan, who had failed to deliver results. The other senior players in Pakistan’s Asia Cup squad include Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, and ace pacer Shaheen Afridi.

In addition to these veterans, several players who performed exceptionally well in the 2025 PSL have also been picked, including the in-form opener Sahibzada Farhan, who has won three POTM awards in the six T20Is he has played this year. Other young talents like Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Sufiyan Muqeem, and Mohammad Wasim Jr. have also been included. The squad also features players like Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Talat, and Khushdil Shah.

Meanwhile, the announcement of Pakistan’s 2025 Asia Cup squad seemingly signals the end of the T20I careers of former captains Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Both Azam and Rizwan have been out of Pakistan’s T20I squad for some time and appear to have fallen out of contention, with their last appearances for the national team being during the tour to South Africa in December 2024.

Despite this, the duo still remains the highest-ranked batsmen from Pakistan on the ICC T20I Rankings, with Babar Azam at the 18th spot and Rizwan at the 20th. Babar’s recent form in the shortest format has been a cause for concern, with head coach Mike Hesson publicly stating that the veteran batsman was challenged to improve his low strike rate in T20s, which has been below 130 for several years. He said, addressing the reporters:

There’s no doubt Babar [Azam] has been asked to improve in some areas, particularly against spin and in terms of his strike-rate.

In addition to these two veteran stars, out-of-form pacer Naseem Shah has also been left out of the squad. Before the Asia Cup, Pakistan will participate in a T20I tri-series against the UAE and Afghanistan, starting on August 29 in Sharjah.

Could Babar Azam Also Lose His Place in Pakistan’s ODI Squad, Following String of Low Scores?

No one would have anticipated such a fate for Pakistan’s Babar Azam, who was once ranked as the No.1 batter on both the ICC ODI and T20I Batting Rankings. His place in the national team is now in jeopardy, having been excluded from the T20I squad for the upcoming Asia Cup.

Babar Azam ODI Pakistan
Babar Azam might lose his spot in Pakistan’s ODI team as well. (via ESPN Cricinfo)

Babar Azam was once renowned for his remarkable consistency across all formats, quickly accumulating over 14,000 runs in international cricket. While he now finds himself completely out of the T20I setup, there is a possibility that the 30-year-old might also lose his spot on the ODI team. He only scored 56 runs in three ODIs in a recent series defeat against West Indies, and has not scored an ODI century since 2023.

Babar Azam has scored 6,291 runs in ODIs for Pakistan and is currently the 11th highest run-scorer for the Men in Green in the 50-over format. However, he holds the best average among all batsmen who have scored over 1,000 runs for Pakistan in ODIs, at 54.23.