Ahmed Shehzad: “I have no problem with Babar Azam. He is my junior. However he performed against minnow teams. He got four ICC tournaments and his performance is in front of us”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Senior Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad has criticised Babar Azam for only performing against “minnow teams”, but insisted that he has “no problem” with the star batsman.
Azam has long been Pakistan’s top run-scorer in all three formats, but his form has taken a drastic dip over the last few months.
Shehzad pointed out that the 30-year-old also fails to perform in International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments, which is when the men in green need him at his best.
“I have no problem with Babar Azam. He is my junior. However he performed against minnow teams. He got four ICC tournaments and his performance is in front of us,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Arfa Feroz Zake on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam recently took part in Pakistan’s ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, where he mustered 62 runs in three games at an average of 20.66.
He followed that up with 87 runs in two matches in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
Pakistan failed to make it out of the group stage as they lost to New Zealand and India, while their final match against Bangladesh was washed out.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a tour of New Zealand, which will consist of five T20Is and three ODIs that will be played from March 16 to April 5.
Pakistan Squad for T20I Series against New Zealand: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for ODI Series against New Zealand: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir