Aaqib Javed: “We worked with both Babar and Rizwan and had honest discussions with them on how to enhance their game”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan Director of High-Performance Aaqib Javed has revealed that he had “honest discussions” with batsmen Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan about their future in the T20I team.
He noted that both players need to work on certain areas and “enhance their game” so that they adhere to the requirements of modern-day cricket.
Azam and Rizwan used to be Pakistan’s first-choice openers in the shortest format and regularly made big scores.
However, their slow batting continued to be a major talking point and led to mounting criticism.
Aaqib said it will take some time for Azam and Rizwan to fix the problems that have been identified, but hinted that they still have a future in T20Is.
“We worked with both Babar and Rizwan and had honest discussions with them on how to enhance their game. You can’t fix everything in six days, but you can certainly point out areas that need work and get players thinking about where they stand,” he was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Azam and Rizwan recently featured in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where they captained the Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans respectively.
Azam accumulated 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 finished with 367 runs in 10 matches, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 52.42 and a strike-rate of 139.54.
After PSL 10, both of them were not picked for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, the T20I tour of Bangladesh, and the T20I series against the West Indies.
Rizwan returned to captain Pakistan in the three-match ODI series against the West Indies in Trinidad and made 69 runs, which included a top score of 53, at an average of 23.
Azam also played in the series and ended up with 56 runs at an average of 18.66.
Pakistan are now playing a T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan in Sharjah, which will end on September 7.
After that, the men in green will be involved in the 2025 Asia Cup, which will be played in the UAE from September 9 to 28.
Pakistan squad for UAE T20I tri-series and 2025 Asia Cup: 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 Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem