Shoaib Akhtar: “I would have never dropped Babar Azam from the Pakistan team”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar thinks batsman Babar Azam should have never been dropped from the national team.
Azam missed many of Pakistan’s T20I assignments earlier this year and even wasn’t selected for the 2025 Asia Cup.
He returned to the T20I team for Pakistan’s home series against South Africa, but Akhtar believes the 31-year-old is too good of a player to be left out.
“I would have never dropped Babar Azam from the Pakistan team,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan and South Africa first played a two-Test series, where Azam scored 131 runs, which included a top score of 50, at an average of 32.75.
In his return to the T20I format, the Lahore native struck 79 runs in three games against the Proteas, which included a top score of 68, at an average of 39.50 and a strike-rate of 117.91.
As for the three-match ODI series, Azam amassed 45 runs at an average of 15.
He has fared significantly better in the ongoing three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka as he has accumulated 131 runs in two games, which includes his first century since August 2023, at an average of 131.
Once the ODIs are done, Pakistan will take on Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in a T20I tri-series from November 18 to 29.
Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka ODI Series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha
Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq
Reserves: Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem