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PCB Chairman Denies Any Role In Babar Azam, Rizwan’s Asia Cup 2025 Snub
Follow UsThe two players have also been demoted from Category A to Category B in Pakistan’s central contracts list for 2025/26
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has distanced himself from the omission of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from Pakistan’s Asia Cup 2025 squad, insisting he played no part in the decision.
“First of all, I don’t have even 1 per cent role in putting players into the team or taking them out. We have a selection committee and then an advisory body; they all sit together. The process goes through a lot – discussions that last 8-10 hours, sometimes for 2-3 days,” Naqvi told local reporters, as quoted by the Times of India.
“Definitely, if a team is being selected, it’s in good hands; all professionals are there. I’ve only told them one thing – whatever decision they take, it should be on merit, and I will support that,” he added.
Pakistan announced their squad on August 17, leaving out both Babar and Rizwan. Head coach Mike Hesson has publicly asked Babar to raise his scoring rate if he wants to return to T20 internationals.
So far in 2025, Babar has managed a strike rate of 128 across all T20s, which dips to 125 against spin. His struggles were evident at the 2024 T20 World Cup, where he struck at just 101.67. Rizwan, meanwhile, has been even slower, scoring at a strike rate of only 120 in 50 T20s since 2024, and just 111.09 against spin.
Adding to the setback, both players have been demoted from Category A to Category B in Pakistan’s central contracts list for 2025/26. Neither has played a T20I this year, and their latest omission is the clearest signal yet that the management may not see them as part of Pakistan’s plans for next year’s T20 World Cup.
Pakistan will open their Asia Cup campaign against Oman on September 12 in Dubai, followed by the highly anticipated clash against arch-rivals India on September 14.