“I don’t have…” – PCB Chairman on Babar and Rizwan’s omission from Asia Cup squad

Overview

• PCB Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, has opened up on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's exclusion from the Asia Cup 2025 squad.
• He denied any involvement in it.
• He backed the merit-based selection. 

Pakistan have already named their 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. But two senior players, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, did not get a place, and that left many surprised. However, while announcing the squad, head coach Mike Hesson and chief selector Aqib Javed clearly said that both of them have been advised to work on their game and improve their strike rate in T20s. In this upcoming edition of the Asia Cup, matches will be played in the T20 format, and hence, they were denied a spot in the squad.

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Now, as quoted by The Times of India, while speaking to local reporters, the PCB Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, was asked about their omission from the squad. In reply, Naqvi claimed that a selection committee and an advisory board picked the squad through a process. He denied any involvement and showed support for merit-based selection.

“First of all, I don’t have even 1 per cent role in putting players into the team or taking them out. We have a selection committee and then an advisory body; they all sit together. The process goes through a lot — discussions that last 8–10 hours, sometimes for 2–3 days,” he said.

Pakistan are in Group A, the first match on September 12

“Definitely, if a team is being selected, it’s in good hands; all professionals are there. I’ve only told them one thing — whatever decision they take, it should be on merit, and I will support that,” Naqvi added.

The Men in Green are in Group A along with India, UAE, and Oman. They will begin their campaign on September 12 against Oman.

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Pakistan's squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufyan Moqim.