No Babar Azam, No Mohammad Rizwan! Aqib Javed backs Pakistan squad: 'This team can beat India in Asia Cup'

NEW DELHI: Pakistan on Sunday unveiled a bold 17-member squad for the upcoming triangular T20I series in Sharjah and the Asia Cup 2025 in the UAE, leaving out seasoned campaigners Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in a major shift of strategy. The squad, led by Salman Ali Agha, reflects the selectors’ preference for aggressive batters such as Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman.

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The omission of Babar and Rizwan has dominated headlines, but director high-performance Aqib Javed insisted Pakistan are more than capable of thriving without their former batting mainstays. Speaking at the squad announcement, Javed struck a defiant tone, declaring: "This team has the ability to beat India in the Asia Cup. Whether you like it or not, the match between India and Pakistan is the biggest in world cricket. Every player knows this."



With India and Pakistan drawn together in Group A, their clash on September 14 in Dubai is already being billed as the highlight of the eight-team tournament. The political backdrop adds further tension, following the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor. Despite calls from sections of India to boycott the fixture, the stage remains set for one of the sport’s fiercest rivalries.

Javed expressed confidence in the squad’s balance and readiness: "Our squad can beat any team. Everyone is ready. Everyone knows the situation surrounding the two countries. But we don’t need to put extra pressure on them."

Head coach Mike Hesson, meanwhile, offered insight into Babar Azam’s exclusion, noting that the star batter has been asked to work on key aspects of his T20 game. "There’s no doubt Babar has been asked to improve in some areas, particularly against spin and in terms of his strike-rate," Hesson said. He added that Babar’s upcoming Big Bash League stint with Adelaide Strikers would be crucial in proving his evolution as a T20 player.

Pakistan will first test their new-look squad in a triangular T20I series involving Afghanistan and the UAE (Aug. 29–Sept. 7 in Sharjah) before heading into the Asia Cup (Sept. 9–28 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi). With Javed backing the young guns to deliver and the India clash looming, the stakes could not be higher.

Pakistan's squad for Asia Cup 2025

• Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed.

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