Wasim Akram tears into Babar Azam-Mohammad Rizwan, sides with Salman Agha for Pakistan’s glory

Former Pakistan National Cricket Team pacer Wasim Akram has backed the Salman Agha-led T20I team to do well in the ongoing edition of the Asia Cup 2025.

Wasim Akram also justified the axing of the star batting duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, saying that they were unable to perform consistently in T20I cricket; hence, there was a need for new faces.

They have given enough chances to Babar and Rizwan - Wasim Akram

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been completely sidelined from the T20I setup of Pakistan, and the head coach Mike Hesson has made it clear that the duo won't be considered in the shorter format going forward.

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Over the years, Babar and Rizwan scored a plethora of runs for the Men In Green in T20Is, but faced constant accusations of playing for personal milestones rather than the team's needs.

Their batting forms also went down, and due to their poor performances, they were axed from the T20I squad for the Asia Cup 2025.

Babar Azam played 128 matches for Pakistan and scored 4223 runs at an average of 39.83 and a strike rate of 129.22. On the other hand, Mohammad Rizwan played 106 games and scored 2723 runs at an average of 47.41 and a strike rate of 125.37.

Recently, Wasim Akram shared his views on the current Pakistan setup and backed the selectors and team management for dropping Babar and Rizwan.

"I think this team is doing OK. They have given enough chances to Babar and Rizwan as openers for 4 or 5 years. They did well, but not as well, not as consistently, and hence the new boys,” said Akram on Sony Sports before the start of the Afghanistan versus Hong Kong China game.

I think the idea was to move on from them, to go to these youngsters - Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram further said that the Pakistan selection committee and team management made proper plans to phase out Babar and Rizwan.

He added that the youngsters, who have been brought into the T20I setup, don't have the fear of losing, and they are playing with the right mindset.

"Babar is not there, Rizwan is not there. I think the idea was to move on from them, to go to these youngsters. They've done well, haven’t been consistent, but at least they have the right mindset.

"They don't have a fear of losing. When you have a fear of losing, you buckle under pressure. So these guys, they might lose, but I think Salman Agha is a good captain,” he added.

Notably, Pakistan's T20I team have started playing ultra-aggressive cricket in the format since the departure of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: Abhishek Sharma declared "Upgraded version of Yuvraj Singh" by India legend

He's leading from the front - Wasim Akram on Salman Agha

Wasim Akram further lauded the T20I captain, Salman Agha, for leading his team from the front and being selfless.

"He's leading from the front. He sacrifices his place at number 4-5, according to the situation. They shouldn’t make too many experiments with this team. They can beat top teams on a regular basis,” he said.

The former pacer also called for the return of Babar Azam to the T20I setup, mainly because of his ability to do well while chasing tricky totals of 150-160 on difficult pitches.

“I just recently said that I want Babar to be in T20. Just think about him because against stronger sides, if you're going to chase 150 or 160 on a pitch like this or in any slightly dodgy wicket, it'll be difficult. You have to change your game a bit. Maybe that will be useful,” said Akram.