Pakistan opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq: “I always try to perform in a way that contributes to the team’s victory. Being in and out of the team is part of the game – I don’t fear it”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq has no fear of being dropped from the team as he has experienced it on multiple occasions.
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.
Hussain Talat: “Pakistan players in the middle order, who can play all forms of cricket, there are very few left. Maybe 4-5 players left, and if you ask them, they also don’t want to play (in that position)”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Hussain Talat has observed a worrying trend within Pakistan cricket, noting that players are reluctant to bat in the middle order because they risk being dropped if they don’t score runs immediately.
Shoaib Malik: “Are these players playing attacking cricket? Why did you remove Babar and Rizwan then? At least they were scoring lots of runs. Why did you ask them to improve their strike-rate if these players are playing with the same strike-rate?”
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Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has questioned why Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were dropped from the T20I team when the batsmen called up to replace them are scoring at similar strike-rates.
Mickey Arthur: “How Babar is not in this batting line-up is totally beyond me”
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Former head coach Mickey Arthur admitted he is completely baffled by Pakistan’s decision to exclude batsman Babar Azam from the team for the 2025 Asia Cup.
Ashley Noffke: “In terms of pace, he is aware it has dropped and he has experienced a dip in form. Recovering pace takes time, but we’re building nicely now. We’ve started seeing more balls in the 140 kph range during the West Indies series”
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Pakistan bowling coach Ashley Noffke said left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi is starting to hit 140 kph again while bowling.
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”
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Iconic Pakistan six-hitter Shahid Afridi doesn’t understand why batsman Babar Azam was dropped from the T20I team.
Rumman Raees: “People want to drop Babar from ODIs. That’s unbelievable. No one in Pakistan matches his class, consistency, and skill in this format”
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Pakistan left-arm seamer Rumman Raees admitted it’s unbelievable that people want batsman Babar Azam to be dropped from the ODI team.
Pakistan batsman Babar Azam: “PCB selectors have conveyed no message to me while dropping [me] from [the Pakistan] T20 cricket team”
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Pakistan batsman Babar Azam has revealed that the selectors didn’t say anything to him before he was dropped from the T20I team.
Shoaib Akhtar: “There was no option but to drop Babar and Rizwan”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has admitted there was “no option” but to drop batsmen Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I team.