Kamran Akmal on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan: “In my opinion, they should now be kept only for Test matches. Maybe after another six months, they should be considered only for Test cricket”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal believes the elite batting duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan should only be picked in Test cricket going forward.
Azam and Rizwan used to be first-choice batsmen across all three formats, but they have now seemingly been removed from the T20I team – a move Akmal has backed.
The duo used to open the batting for the men in green in the shortest format, but were continually chastised for taking too long to score their runs.
Even though they have been Pakistan’s most consistent run-scorers for the last few years, Akmal feels it is the right decision to turn them into Test specialists.
“In my opinion, they should now be kept only for Test matches. Maybe after another six months, they should be considered only for Test cricket,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Recently, Azam and Rizwan featured in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), with the former captaining the Peshawar Zalmi and the latter leading the Multan Sultans.
Azam amassed 288 runs in 10 games, which included three fifties, at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
As for Rizwan, he accumulated 367 runs, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 52.42 and a strike-rate of 139.54.
Following the conclusion of PSL 10, neither Azam nor Rizwan were selected for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, which the men in green won 3-0.
They were also ignored for the tour of Bangladesh, where Pakistan lost the T20I series 2-1.
Pakistan are now touring the West Indies for three T20Is and three ODIs.
They won the T20I series 2-1.
Rizwan will now captain Pakistan in the ODI series, while Azam is part of the squad as well.
The 1st ODI will be played on August 9 in Trinidad.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies T20I Series: 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, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
Pakistan Squad for West Indies ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
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