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Former captains Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan will not play in the Asia Cup 2025. They were not picked in the 17-member squad announced by PCB on Sunday, August 17.
What is Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan’s record in T20Is? (Picture Credit: AFP)
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday (August 17) announced Pakistan’s 17-member squad for the upcoming T20I tri-series as well as the Asia Cup 2025. In the team picked for the premier continental event, which is set to be played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from September 9 to 28, there was no place for former captains Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Babar and Rizwan’s snub from the squad didn’t come as a surprise for Pakistani fans, as both the senior players have not been part of the shortest format squad for quite some time now, but for Indian fans, who have not followed Pakistan cricket from close quarters in the past few months due to the ban on Pakistani social media handles and live coverage of matches in India, it was indeed a shock.
Babar and Rizwan are two of Pakistan’s best all-format batters of all time, and on October 24, 2021, they played a big role in the Men in Green’s 10-wicket win over India in the T20 World Cup match played at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. But since that triumph, both Rizwan and Babar have failed to deliver on a consistent basis, and as a result, they are no longer part of the T20I side.
All-rounder Salman Ali Agha will captain the Pakistani team in the Asia Cup 2025, and the squad includes the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris and Sahibzada Farhan, among others. While all these players have the talent and skill to shine, they are yet to live up to the expectations at the highest level.
Of the 17 players that are picked for the Asia Cup 2025, only one – Fakhar – features in the list of top 10 batters with the most runs in T20Is for Pakistan.
Most runs for Pakistan in T20Is
| PLAYER | MATCHES | RUNS | AVERAGE | STRIKE RATE | BEST SCORE | 100/50 | 4/6s |
| Babar Azam | 128 | 4223 | 39.83 | 129.22 | 122 | 3/36 | 447/73 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | 106 | 3414 | 47.41 | 125.37 | 104* | 1/30 | 285/95 |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 119 | 2514 | 26.46 | 122.03 | 99* | 0/14 | 251/76 |
| Shoaib Malik | 123 | 2423 | 31.46 | 125.67 | 75 | 0/9 | 195/69 |
| Fakhar Zaman | 97 | 1949 | 22.66 | 131.77 | 91 | 0/11 | 183/78 |
| Umar Akmal | 84 | 1690 | 26.00 | 122.73 | 94 | 0/8 | 122/55 |
| Ahmed Shehzad | 59 | 1471 | 25.80 | 114.74 | 111* | 1/7 | 157/33 |
| Shahid Afridi | 98 | 1405 | 18.01 | 150.75 | 54* | 0/4 | 102/73 |
| Iftikhar Ahmed | 66 | 998 | 24.34 | 129.10 | 62* | 0/4 | 66/44 |
| Kamran Akmal | 58 | 987 | 21.00 | 119.63 | 73 | 0/5 | 100/31 |
Babar is Pakistan’s highest run-getter in T20Is, and he is followed by Rizwan. Babar is in fact one of the three players to score more than 4000 runs in T20Is, and the Lahore-born cricketer is just nine runs away from breaking Rohit Sharma’s record of most runs in T20Is.
He also has crossed the 50-run mark 39 times in T20Is, which is the joint-most for any batter.
Babar Azam’s records in T20Is
- Most runs for Pakistan (4223)
- 2nd most runs (1st is Rohit Sharma with 4231 runs)
- Most 100s and 50s for Pakistan (3X100, 36X50s)
- Joint-most 50+ scores (Virat Kohli also has 39)
- Most 4s (447)
- Most matches for Pakistan (128)
- Fastest to 2000 runs (52 innings)
- Most wins as captain of Pakistan (48)
Mohammad Rizwan’s record in T20Is
- 2nd most runs for Pakistan (3414)
- Most sixes for Pakistan (95)
- Highest batting average for Pakistan (47.41)
- Most runs in a calendar year (1326 runs in 29 matches in 2021)
- Fastest to score 3000 runs (79 innings)
- Most runs in Asia Cup T20 for Pakistan (281 in six matches)
In his last T20I match for Pakistan, Babar scored 31 runs from 20 balls as a No. 3 batter against South Africa on December 13, 2024 in Centurion whereas Rizwan made 11 runs from 13 balls as opener in that same game.
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- Location :
Lahore, Pakistan
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