Pakistan's Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi to opt out of New Zealand tour to avoid getting dropped

Pakistan’s disastrous ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign stunned the cricket world, with top players including Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf now under the scanner.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not unhappy with the team's underwhelming performances, and they are planning to make significant changes.

Asian Nation is hosting the ICC tournament for the first time since 1996, but they endured a nightmare campaign, failing to register a single win. Their hopes of ending the tournament on a winning note were crushed when rain washed out their final group-stage match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 disaster sparks major shake-up talks

The Men in Green became the first team to finish their Champions Trophy campaign at home without a single win in the last two decades. With mounting criticism from all quarters following the horrific campaign, the reports of massive changes in the team have intensified.

It is being said that some of their biggest names—Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, and even former captain Babar Azam—are at the risk of facing dropping for their poor performances in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Changes in the coaching staff are also on the horizon.

Read Also: "Leave running Cricket"- Jason Gillespie to PCB after Pakistan's Champions Trophy exit

Meanwhile, fresh reports claimed that some senior cricketers are thinking about skipping the upcoming New Zealand tour to avoid being dropped due to their overwhelming performances in the prestigious tournament. However, the names of those players are yet to be known.

Senior stars considering ‘Break’ to avoid being dropped by the PCB

As reported by Geo News, some players on the team are considering taking a "break" from the upcoming New Zealand tour, where they are set to play five T20Is and three ODIs from March 16 to April 5. The report also suggested that a few players have started discussions about taking a “break” instead of risking being officially dropped by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

The players are reportedly worried about being seen as "dropped" and are thinking about withdrawing from the squad on their own for the upcoming white-ball series in New Zealand. Notably, the Men in Green suffered a 60-run defeat against New Zealand in their tournament and then faced a painful defeat of six wickets in their second group match in the tournament.

Read Also: Jason Gillespie exposes Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah Haris Rauf in front of the world

Later, the Black Caps defeated Bangladesh to seal their spot in the semifinals from Group A alongside India. However, the hosts were hoping to salvage their pride in their final group match against the Tigers, but rain played spoilsport as the match was abandoned in Rawalpindi.

Why not have a foreign chairman?: Mohammad Hafeez takes dig at Mohsin Naqvi

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain and team director Mohammad Hafeez took a brutal dig at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over the ongoing crisis. He suggested that the PCB must try out a foreign chairman to solve the ongoing struggles of the national team.

Mohammad Hafeez said during a discussion on a Pakistani sports news channel, “For the solution, we have talked about the management, the players. We always say that we need foreign coaches. We think foreign coaches perform the best. Why not have a foreign chairman?”