Former Pakistan head coach and team director Mickey Arthur thinks Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan aren’t compatible with modern-day T20 cricket. The senior pros were the backbone of Pakistan’s T20I team from 2019 to 2023. To this date, they are the most prolific batting partnership in the format, amassing 3300 runs at 46.47.
However, in the last couple of years, batters have upped their intent. Average has started to become obsolete, with strike rate becoming the main trend of the town. Rizwan and Babar have lacked in this department. The 2024 T20 World Cup was the final straw, as Pakistan was knocked out of the group stage, which included a loss to the USA.
Babar Azam & Rizwan are outdated in T20s
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to move away from both and they haven’t played a T20I in 2025. Arthur, under whom both Babar and Rizwan developed, thinks they have stagnated and the format has evolved while they haven’t.
“Both Babar and Rizwan are excellent players, but cricket has evolved. They are not perfect for the kind of cricket needed to play in T20s today,” Arthur said, as per Minute Mirror.
The comment comes after Pakistan didn’t include them in their squad for the Asia Cup. Arthur highlighted how every captain and coach has their own vision. He believes Mike Hesson and Salman Ali Agha have their own plans. As things stand, neither Babar nor Rizwan fit in those plans.
“Hesson, along with the captain, Agha Salman, desires that the team play as per their own strategy. They are shaping a style that is tailored for contemporary T20 cricket, and that comes with tough calls,” he added.
Pakistan squad for Asia Cup 2025
Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufyan Moqim.
