Mohammad Amir: “Those who decided to drop Babar and Rizwan are not even worthy of making such decisions”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm seamer believes those who opted to drop batsmen Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I team “are not even worthy of making” selection decisions.
Azam and Rizwan missed multiple assignments earlier this year, including the 2025 Asia Cup, as they were continuously overlooked.
Azam ultimately returned to the T20I side during the three-match series against South Africa, where he made 79 runs, which included a top score of 68, at an average of 39.50 and a strike-rate of 117.91.
He also participated in the T20 tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, and accumulated 127 runs in five games, which included a top score of 74, at an average of 31.75 and a strike-rate of 112.38.
Rizwan, however, has continued to be ignored in T20Is even till now.
In Amir’s opinion, both players are too good to leave out of the side as they are consistent run-scorers and have won Pakistan many matches in the past.
“Those who decided to drop Babar and Rizwan are not even worthy of making such decisions. Babar has scored over 4,000 runs in T20 cricket – how can you drop a player like him? Babar and Rizwan are the pillars of Pakistan’s batting line-up, and without them, the team is incomplete,” he was quoted as saying on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam and Rizwan are both playing in the Big Bash League (BBL) right now, with the former having made 129 runs in five matches for the Sydney Sixers, which includes two fifties, at an average of 32.25 and a strike-rate of 117.27.
Rizwan, meanwhile, is representing the Melbourne Renegades and has struck 58 runs in four games at an average of 14.50 and a strike-rate of 100.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a T20I tour of Sri Lanka, but neither Azam nor Rizwan were included in the squad.
All three T20Is will be held in Dambulla from January 7 to 11.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmad, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq