Wristspinners Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem have also secured spots in Pakistan's squad. They are joined by Salman Mirza, who was Pakistan's leading wicket-taker with eight wickets in the recent away T20I series against Bangladesh.

Pakistan’s Asia Cup 2025 squad sparks controversy as Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are dropped over strike rate concerns, while captain Agha Salman’s weaker numbers expose glaring hypocrisy in team selection.

Former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has been dropped from the squad for the Asia Cup 2025 tournament in UAE next month.

Pakistan will walk into the Asia Cup 2025 starting September 9 without Babar Azam, a decision that has already sparked debate among fans and experts. For nearly a decade, Babar has been the anchor of Pakistan’s batting. Now, at 30, he finds himself out of the squad not because of an injury or retirement but because of form and approach.

Whatever politics are at play, whatever the motivation behind the omission of Babar Azam from Pakistan’s squad for the Asia Cup, he will cope. So, Mohammad Rizwan has lost his place, too, and been demoted to the B category of Pakistan’s central contracts?

Azam’s current situation is similar to that of Kohli’s pre-2022 struggles in several ways, including plenty of starts but no big scores, external pressure, and comparisons to past form. The 30-year-old must be mentally ready for the Asia Cup, rather than overthinking about the form slump and trophy drought.

Kamran Akmal had recently asked for Babar Azam to be dropped from all white-ball formats, but made a massive U-turn after the former Pakistan captain was not included in the squad for Asia Cup 2025.

Mike Hesson said that a player like Babar Azam has opportunity to play in the Big Bash League (BBL) and showcase his improvement in the format