Pakistan T20 squad announced against Bangladesh

By Ravi - May 21, 2025 12:22 PM
Last updated on May 21, 2025 12:22 PM

Pakistan T20 squad announced against Bangladesh

Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi have not been selected for the home series against Bangladesh. Pakistan announced the T20 team for this series on Wednesday, May 21. The reason for keeping these three veterans out has also come to light.

Bangladesh cricket team will play a 3-match T20 series on its Pakistan tour. It will start from May 27, while earlier it was to start from May 25. The postponement of PSL also affected this series. This will be Mike Hesson's first series as Pakistan's head coach. PCB announced a team of 16 players, whose command has been handed over to Salman Ali Agha. Shadab Khan is the vice-captain. Big players like Babar, Rizwan and Afridi are not part of this team.

Babar Azam

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Afridi were also left out of the team on the New Zealand tour. However, Pakistan lost badly in that series too. After becoming the head coach, Hesson wanted Babar Azam to be played in the T20 series against Bangladesh, while the selectors were against it. Now after being dropped from the T20 series for the second consecutive time, it is believed that the PCB does not consider these three fit for this short format of cricket.

Why were Babar Azam, Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi out?

The Pakistan Cricket Board said in its statement that the team for the T20 series against Bangladesh has been selected on the basis of performance in PSL 10. Babar has scored 288 runs in 10 matches played so far in PSL 2025, including 3 half-centuries. Rizwan has scored 367 runs in 10 matches, including 1 century. Shaheen Shah Afridi has taken 11 wickets in 10 matches.