Babar Azam: “Ali Raza and Maaz Sadaqat are good prospects. They have played Under-19 and first-class [cricket], and I hope they do well for Pakistan”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former captain Babar Azam has identified fast bowler Ali Raza and batsman Maaz Sadaqat as two “good prospects”, and hopes “they do well for Pakistan”.
Both Raza and Sadaqat have yet to make their international debuts, but have been putting up impressive performances in domestic cricket.
They were recently in action in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and played under Azam’s captaincy for the Peshawar Zalmi.
Raza, who is just 17 years old, took 12 wickets in nine matches at an average of 25.25 and an economy rate of 9.18.
As for 20-year-old Sadaqat, he scored 78 runs in four games, which included a top score of 55, at an average of 39 and a strike-rate of 165.95.
“Ali Raza and Maaz Sadaqat are good prospects. They have played Under-19 and first-class [cricket], and I hope they do well for Pakistan,” Azam was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
After the conclusion of PSL 10, Pakistan faced Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series and won 3-0.
They then toured Bangladesh for another three-match T20I series, but ended up losing 2-1.
After that, they went to the West Indies and came away with mixed results as they won the T20I series 2-1 but lost the ODIs 2-1.
Pakistan are now playing a T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan in Sharjah, which will finish on September 7.
After that, the men in green will feature in the 2025 Asia Cup, which will be held 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
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