Shahid Afridi: “Babar is a reliable batter. Whenever he walks onto the field, there’s an expectation that he will score runs. Dropping him doesn’t make sense, especially when he was playing at a similar strike-rate as the newer players”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Iconic Pakistan six-hitter Shahid Afridi doesn’t understand why batsman Babar Azam was dropped from the T20I team.
He noted that Azam is a “reliable batter” who is capable of scoring runs consistently.
The 30-year-old used to be a first-choice opener for Pakistan in T20Is, but many believe he was dropped since he took too many balls to score his runs.
However, Afridi pointed out that many of the current players in the team hold a similar strike-rate to Azam, which is why he feels the decision to axe the Lahore native “doesn’t make sense”.
“Babar is a reliable batter. Whenever he walks onto the field, there’s an expectation that he will score runs. Dropping him doesn’t make sense, especially when he was playing at a similar strike-rate as the newer players,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam has not featured in Pakistan’s last few T20I assignments, which included a three-match series against Bangladesh in Lahore, the tour of Bangladesh, and the three-match series against the West Indies.
He was also ignored for the T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan, which the men in green won.
As for the ongoing 2025 Asia Cup in the UAE, Azam was once again overlooked by the national selectors.
Pakistan kicked things off with a 93-run win over Oman before suffering a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of India.
They then bounced back to beat the UAE by 41 runs.
Next up for Pakistan will be a rematch against India on September 21 in Dubai.
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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