Mohammad Hafeez: This is the first time in the last 8 years that Babar Azam has not got a place in the Asia Cup team.
Today on 17 August, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the Pakistani team for the Asia Cup 2025 starting on 9 September. However, experienced batsman Babar Azam, who has been playing Asia Cup continuously for the last 8 years, has not got a place in this team.
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At the same time, not only Babar Azam but also experienced wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan has been shown the way out of the team. Meanwhile, former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez has put forth his opinion on the selection of Asia Cup. Hafeez says that now Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are no longer match winners for the team.
Mohammad Hafeez put forth his point of view
Let us tell you that after the selection of the Pakistani team for the Asia Cup, through a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Mohammad Hafeez said – Now it would be wrong and unfair to call them match winner players. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are not the match winners of Pakistan cricket at the moment.
"Babar and Rizwan no longer key players" – Mohammad Hafeez pic.twitter.com/rH4SJ4qx9F
— The Cricket Network (@1CricketNetwork) August 17, 2025
The main players are those who win matches for Pakistan. If we look at the last one and a half to two years, the players who have consistently performed well are Salman Ali Agha, Sam Ayub and Hasan Nawaz. Why are we not talking about them? These are the current players who are winning matches for Pakistan.
Hafeez further said – I think Babar and Rizwan need to be concerned about their position in the team. They have to prove themselves as a good player first, the key players come later.
Both were good earlier, but now they are not able to give results. Both need to be fully involved in the game, otherwise the results will not be achieved. The same applies to Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, they are also not giving match-winning performances for Pakistan.
Pakistan Cricket Team for UAE Tri Series and Asia Cup 2025
Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Sahibzada Farhan, Sam Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufyan Mokim.
