Aqib Javed, the interim head coach of Pakistan, explained the reasons behind the exclusion of star batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand.
Aqib, accompanied by newly appointed T20I captain Salman Ali Agha, announced two separate white-ball squads for the upcoming tour of New Zealand in Lahore today.
He announced that Rizwan would continue to lead the ODI team, but he was replaced by Salman in the T20I team, with Shadab Khan serving as the vice-captain. Meanwhile, Babar also retained his place in the ODI side.
During the press conference, Aqib Javed was asked about the exclusion of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I team.
In response, he clarified that no player has been permanently sidelined; rather, the current focus is on developing a new mindset within the T20I team.
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“Look, this is never the case that a player is completely ruled out. [But] right now, we feel that we need to bring in young blood into the team and change our style of play and mindset,” said Aqib.
He further explained how several teams have completely separated their T20I and ODI squads, and Pakistan is looking to adopt a similar approach.
“If you look at other teams, many have kept their T20I squads entirely separate [from ODIs],” he added.
“Our aim is to maintain a core group of 24-25 players leading up to the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup 2026, ensuring that we don’t go beyond this player pool and approach these tournaments with a specific mindset.”
For the unversed, Mohammad Rizwan was appointed Pakistan’s white-ball captain in October 2024, but his tenure as T20I skipper was short-lived as he led the team in just five T20Is, losing all of them.
Pakistan squads for New Zealand tour
ODIs: Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr., Mohammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir.
T20Is: Salman Ali Agha (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan (wk).
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