Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam pose for an image, April 5, 2024. — Instagram/@geo_super
SHARJAH: Left-arm quick bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has expressed his views on the absence of senior gamers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming ACC Males’s Asia Cup 2025, scheduled from September 9 to twenty-eight.
Babar and Rizwan, who had featured in each multi-nation match for Pakistan because the ICC Males’s T20 World Cup 2021 within the UAE, have been sidelined from the shortest format following the three-match away sequence in opposition to South Africa in December final yr.
The duo in the end didn’t make it to the Pakistan squad for the upcoming Asia Cup as the previous champions shift their focus to grooming children forward of subsequent yr’s T20 World Cup.
Their snub from the continental match drew extreme backlash from followers and former cricketers, however their teammate Shaheen emphasised backing the children whereas acknowledging them as ‘world-class players’.
“I won’t be here either in the future. I believe everyone should get the opportunity,” said Shaheen.
“Babar and Rizwan are world-class players, and they played pretty good cricket for Pakistan and by the will of Almighty Allah will play again.
“But again, everyone should get the opportunity, and they should grab it with both hands. They are our youngsters as well, so we should back them. They are also our players, and we should take them forward.”
Shaheen’s remarks got here on the sidelines of the nationwide males’s group’s coaching session on the Sharjah Cricket Stadium right here for the tri-nation T20I sequence in opposition to Afghanistan and hosts UAE, which is able to precede the Asia Cup 2025.
The sequence will get underway on August 29 and can conclude on September 7, only a day earlier than the graduation of the eight-team continental occasion.
Pakistan squad for Tri-Collection and Asia Cup 2025:
Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (C), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (WK), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem.
