Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan Are Not Key Players: Mohammad Hafeez Slams Amid Asia Cup Snub

The Pakistan star batters Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan have carried the weight of the team in international cricket over the years across all formats. The duo has played crucial roles for the team many times, but the recent slump in their form has drawn a lot of criticism.

Meanwhile, facing all this criticism, the duo has been snubbed from the Asia Cup 2025 squad, as the selectors continue to keep them away from the T20I format due to repeated failures in ICC tournaments.

Former all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez has now questioned not only their effectiveness but also their current position as "key players" in the national team.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said,

"Calling them key players would be wrong and unfair. Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan are not Pakistan cricket's key players at the moment. Key players are those who win matches for Pakistan."

Further, he stated,

"If we look at the past year and a half to two years, the players showing consistent performance are Salman Ali Agha, Saeem Ayub, and Hasan Nawaz. Why aren't we talking about them? They are the current players winning matches for Pakistan."

There was a time when Babar was hailed for his incredible knocks in the national team, but a drop across all formats has drawn a lot of criticism now, as have Rizwan's struggles in his current form.

Hafeez also stated that the senior batters should re-establish themselves.

He said,

"I think Babar and Rizwan need to be concerned about their positions in the team. They need to prove themselves. We should focus on players who can contribute for the next 10-15 years. Our media criticizes one or two players and hypes one or two others, which is wrong. We need to talk about those who are actually performing."