Basit Ali: “In my view, Babar, Rizwan, and Salman Ali Agha are not suited for T20s”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali believes the batting trio of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha “are not suited” for T20Is.
Azam and Rizwan used to be Pakistan’s go-to openers in the format, while Salman currently captains the men in green in the shortest format.
It should be noted that Azam and Rizwan have not been picked for the last few T20I assignments, which include a three-match series against Bangladesh in Lahore, a T20I tour of Bangladesh, a T20I series against the West Indies, and a T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan.
They also failed to make the cut for the 2025 Asia Cup, where Pakistan made it to the final before losing to India.
As for Salman, he recently featured in the T20I tri-series against the UAE and Afghanistan in Sharjah, and made 109 runs in five games, which included a top score of 53 not out, at an average of 27.25 and a strike-rate of 118.47.
He followed that up with 72 runs in seven games at the Asia Cup at an average of 12 and a strike-rate of 80.89.
Basit is resolute that Azam and Salman don’t belong in the Pakistan T20I team, but softened his stance on Rizwan, suggesting the 33-year-old could potentially get in as a middle order batsman.
“In my view, Babar, Rizwan, and Salman Ali Agha are not suited for T20s. Rizwan could play, but definitely not as a top order batter,” he was quoted as saying by TOK Sports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a home series against South Africa, which will comprise two Tests, three T20Is, and three ODIs.
The series will be played from October 12 to November 8.
Pakistan squad for South Africa Test series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi