Both Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been left out of Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. Former Pakistani cricketer Tanvir Ahmed has come up with a bold statement, saying that both players should consider retirement from international cricket if they feel disrespected, while giving the example of India’s Virat Kohli. The former Indian captain shocked the world with his retirement from Test cricket in May ahead of the England tour.
On his X account, Ahmed wrote: “Meri Babar Azam aur Rizwan say request hai ager ap log yeh samajhtey hain ap logon ke izzat nahi ha tou retirement ley lo international cricket say humarey samne virat kohli ke examples hain. @babarazam258, @iMRizwanPak izzat apney hath main ha” (My request to Babar Azam and Rizwan is that if you feel your respect is not intact, then consider retiring from international cricket. We have examples of Virat Kohli in front of us. Babar and Rizwan, respect is in your hands).
The former cricketer also raised concerns about injured batter Fakhar Zaman, questioning his selection for the tournament.
“Was Fakhar Zaman forced into the team, or was he included to prevent Babar Azam from being selected? How did Fakhar Zaman get in?” he mentioned.
Both Azam and Rizwan have not featured in any of Pakistan’s recent T20Is, which could impact their selection for the T20 World Cup next year.
As addressed by head coach Mike Hesson, Babar has been asked to improve his game and earn his spot back in Pakistan’s T20I side.
“There’s no doubt Babar’s been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate,” he said. “Those are things he’s working really hard on. A player like Babar has an opportunity to play in the BBL and show he’s improving in those areas in T20s. He’s too good a player not to consider.”
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