Babar Azam dropped from Pakistan’s squad for Zimbabwe tour, set to return for…

Former Pakistan skipper and veteran batter Babar Azam has been dropped from the team's ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming Zimbabwe tour, as the selectors have decided to go with a second-string lineup. In addition to Azam, several other Pakistan players will miss the Zimbabwe series, including pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan will sit out the T20I leg of the series. However, despite announcing the ODI and T20I squads, the PCB has yet to announce the new white-ball captain for their side.

Notably, Arafat Minhas, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Faisal Akram, Ahmed Daniyal and Jahandad Khan are the new faces to be included in the Pakistan squad for Zimbabwe series. Moreover, pacer Mohammad Hasnain is making a comeback in the Pakistani ODI squad after a gap of over 1.5 years. The 24 year old pacer has been rewarded by PCB after he picked up 17 wickets during the Champions Cup recently.

In a statement about the selection policy for ODI and T20I series, PCB said, “This approach follows the selectors’ rotation policy and provides opportunities to domestic performers, aligning with the team’s strategy for the ICC Champions Trophy and beyond,”

Meanwhile, PCB demoted Shaheen Afridi from category B to Category A while not offering a contract contact to various other senior players like Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed and Osama Mir.

Pakistan's T20 squad for Zimbabwe series:

Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan

Pakistan's ODI squad for Zimbabwe series:

Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani and Tayyab Tahir