Pakistan’s national selectors are considering excluding senior players Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi from the forthcoming T20 series against the West Indies and Bangladesh. This move suggests a strategic change towards nurturing young talent, considering the busy international schedule ahead.
Sources within the selection panel, including Aaqib Javed, Aleem Dar, Azhar Ali, and Asad Shafiq, along with head coach Mike Hesson, have indicated to the veteran trio that their services will not be utilized in the upcoming T20 fixtures. Instead, the team management prefers the players to focus on the ICC World Test Championship and the ODI format, where experience is considered more valuable.
The Pakistan team will be touring the West Indies in late July to participate in a series of three T20 Internationals and three ODIs. Following this, the team will proceed to Bangladesh to play a T20 series, originally planned for three matches. However, discussions are underway to extend the series to five matches in August.
Additionally, Pakistan is scheduled to play Afghanistan in a T20 series later in August. These matches are viewed as important preparation for the Asia Cup (likely in September) and the ICC T20 World Cup early next year.
The selectors and coach Hesson are eager to provide opportunities to younger players in the shortest format of the game. The exclusion of the senior players is not performance-related but a strategic decision to develop squad depth.
Shaheen Afridi has been in excellent form in franchise cricket, recently leading Lahore Qalandars to their third Pakistan Super League (PSL) title in five seasons. The exclusion of Babar, Rizwan, and Shaheen from the T20 squad is not new. Babar has been left out of multiple recent series, including those against New Zealand, Bangladesh, Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, demonstrating a consistent long-term approach by the team management.