Former Pakistan captain questions ‘key player’ tag for Babar, Rizwan

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez has raised doubts over the status of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as “key players” for the national side, suggesting that others in the current setup are more deserving of the title.

Babar and Rizwan endured a poor run in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against the West Indies, while both remain out of Pakistan’s T20I plans since December 2024.

Babar managed scores of 47, 0, and 9 across the three games, while Rizwan posted 53, 16, and 0.

Speaking on a local YouTube channel, Mohammad Hafeez argued that being labelled a key player requires winning matches for the team, something he feels Babar and Rizwan have failed to deliver in recent years.

“Calling them key players would be wrong and unfair. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are not Pakistan cricket’s key players at the moment. Key players are those who win matches for Pakistan,” said Hafeez.

“If we look at the past year and a half to two years, the players showing consistent performance are Salman Ali Agha, Saim Ayub, and Hasan Nawaz.”

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The former all-rounder went on to question whether Babar and Rizwan even justify their spots in the XI at present.

“I think Babar and Rizwan need to be concerned about their positions in the team,” said Mohammad Hafeez.

“They need to prove themselves as good players first; key players come later. Both were good in the past, but now they are not delivering results.”

Hafeez extended his criticism to Pakistan’s leading pacers as well, insisting Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi have also fallen short of delivering match-winning contributions.

He concluded by stressing that Pakistan cricket should focus less on reputation and more on building a core of consistent performers for the next decade.

“We should focus on players who can contribute for the next 10–15 years. Our media hypes and criticises the wrong people; we need to talk about those who are actually performing,” he added.

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