Pakistan Captain Strikes At 115.85: Decoding The Hypocrisy In Asia Cup Squad Selection

Hypocrisy in Pakistan Asia Cup team [Source: AFP Photo]

On Sunday, Pakistan selectors revealed the National team squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 tournament. As expected, some of the big names, including Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, were snubbed, and young players were given a chance. The same squad will feature in the tri-nation series between Pakistan, UAE, and Afghanistan.

Improve strike rate: Hesson warns Babar

Two of their star players, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were shown the exit door, and despite scoring truckloads of runs, their strike rate became the main issue for the selectors. The duo have a high average in T20Is, but the strike rate is slightly on the lower side, and here's what the head coach said when asked about dropping Babar from the team.

"Babar Azam has an opportunity to play in the BBL and show that he's improving in the areas needed in T20Is. He's too good a player for us not to consider. There's no doubt that Babar Azam has been asked to improve in some areas, particularly against spin and in terms of strike rate. He's working hard to improve. If Babar and Rizwan perform like the other players, then they will definitely play." Hesson said. 

Now, certainly Babar doesn't have the strike rate to survive in the modern T20 era, but the strike-rate of the current T20I captain, Agha Salman, reveals a startling story.

Hypocrisy in team selection: Agha Salman's numbers worse than Babar

Pakistan removed Babar, and Rizwan due to their inability to increase the strike rate when it matters the most, but here is what is hidden in Agha Salman's T20I numbers.

(Agha Salman T20I stats)

• As shown in the table, Babar's captaincy replacement, Agha Salman has mediocre numbers in T20I cricket, and has a strike rate of a mere 115.85, which is 13.37 less than what Babar strikes at (129.22).
• So, technically, the captain, who will lead the aggressive brand of cricket, has numbers which is way lower than Babar, who was removed from the team due to his 129.22 strike rate.

Babar vs Agha Salman: T20I number since 2024

In November 2024, Salman Agha made his T20I debut against Australia, and since then, let us have a look at the strike-rate of the two players -Babar, and Salman in the shortest format.

(Babar vs Agha T20I stats since NOV 2024)

Ever since Salman's debut, Babar has only played 5 T2OIs, but there is a striking difference in terms of strike rate. While Babar struck at 150, Agha Salman achieved all of his runs at 115.

Hence, if PCB is stating that Babar was removed due to strike rate issue, then there is something wrong. Overall, the former captain has a higher strike rate than Agha Salman, and even in the last one year, he has outclassed him.

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