 "Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been dropped from the Asia Cup squad. Reuters")
Pakistan have announced their 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 in the UAE, with Salman Ali Agha named as captain. He will also lead the team in the UAE tri-series featuring Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the UAE before the Asia Cup.
Babar Azam, Rizwan dropped
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been snubbed, signalling an end to their T20I career. Out-of-form pacer Naseem Shah has also been left out from the squad for the Asia Cup. These changes have come after the appointment of the new white-ball head coach Mike Hesson.
Meanwhile, the squad features some big names like Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, and Faheem Ashraf. Along with them, youngsters like Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, and Mohammad Haris have also been included.
Pakistan’s squad for Asia Cup: 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.
The Asia Cup 2025 will be played in the T20 format and will serve as an important preparation for the 2026 T20 World Cup. The blockbuster match between India and Pakistan is scheduled to take place on September 14.