Pakistani journalist Amir Mir, who is reportedly an advisor to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, gave a brutal reply about snubbing Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I squad to face Bangladesh. Mir, who spoke to the press about the squad, said the reason Babar and Rizwan were not picked due to being one-day players.
On Tuesday, PCB announced the 15-man T20I squad to take on Bangladesh in the three-game series, beginning on July 20. Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan were notable misses due to injuries, while the likes of Irfan Khan, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim and Naseem Shah have been omitted. Salman Ali Agha continues to lead the side, having made his captaincy debut during the series against New Zealand.
With one of the reporters asking about the omissions of Babar and Rizwan, Mir said:
"Dekhiye yeh T20 squad hai. Jin logon ka aap zikr kar rahe hain, woh one-day squad mein hote hain, toh yeh T20 squad hai. Jab one-day squad announce hoga, tab aap isme dekh lijiyega, kaunse naam hote hain kaunse nahin. (Look, this is the T20 squad. The names you took are usually part of the one-day squad. When the squad for one-dayers gets announced, you can see who is in and who is out.)
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan last played a T20I in December
Meanwhile, the last T20I played by Babar and Rizwan came on December 13, 2024 against South Africa at the Supersport Park, Centurion. Although Babar and Rizwan endured a golden run for a few years, their lack of abilities to maximize the powerplay hurt Pakistan on multiple occasions.
Mirpur will host all three T20Is between Pakistan and Bangladesh on July 20, 22 and 24.
