Babar Azam gears up for T20I comeback amidst Pakistan batters' struggles in Asia Cup

Babar Azam aggressive shots [Source: @DoctorofCricket/x.com]

When Pakistan announced their Asia Cup 2025 squad, the team management dropped a bombshell by ignoring their star player, Babar Azam. The batter was neglected and not picked in the team as the head coach stated that he doesn’t have the appropriate strike rate to play the modern version of T20 cricket.

Babar gearing up for T20I return amidst Pakistan struggle

However, fast forward to four games later in the Asia Cup, and the Pakistan batters have struggled to cope under difficult situations. Right from the openers to the middle order batters, everyone has failed to deliver the goods as the team finds itself in deep trouble.

With the Men in Green unable to cope with the pressure of the Asia Cup, a video went viral where Babar Azam could be seen practising. Interestingly, the former Pakistan captain was seen playing aggressive shots as he looked in complete touch, and it seems he is gearing up for a potential T20I comeback.

In the video, Babar was practising new shots as he went for slog sweeps, something which he doesn’t try much, and was stepping down the track for big hits.

Why Babar was removed from the T20I setup?

Babar was Pakistan’s T20I captain, but after a poor show in the 2024 World Cup, he was removed from the post. Moreover, despite boasting an average of 39.83, Babar had a poor strike rate in T20Is (129.22), and this led to Pakistan coach Mike Hesson openly stating that the batter needs to work on his strike rate. 

Moreover, PCB wanted a younger crop of players in the T20Is, and hence, Babar, alongside Mohammad Rizwan were snubbed from the squad.

However, this Asia Cup 2025 has showcased that none of the Babar replacements have done well as the strike rate issue still persists after four games in the tournament.

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