Babar Azam’s Brother Gets Involved In Pakistan's Selection For New Zealand Tour

Babar Azam, along with Mohammad Rizwan, was dropped from the Pakistan T20I squad for the tour of New Zealand as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the T20I and ODI squads. Pakistan will play 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs in New Zealand from March 16 to April 5.

This is the first squad to be released since Pakistan's crushing home loss in the Champions Trophy 2025. Shadab Khan, who was also selected as vice-captain, has returned, while Rizwan's vice-captain, Salman Agha, has been named captain.

For the three 50-over games, Salman will be Mohammad Rizwan's deputy and he will remain the ODI captain. Shaheen Afridi, a pacer, has been left out of the ODI team, though.

New names in Pakistan T20I squad for New Zealand white-ball tour

Akif Javed and Mohammad Ali have not yet made their ODI debuts, while Abdul Samad, Hasan Nawaz, and Muhammad Ali are the only uncapped players on the T20I squad. Due to their exceptional performances in the Champions One-Day and T20 Cups, the four players received awards.

For medical reasons, Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman, the openers, were not considered for either format. During Pakistan's opening game against New Zealand in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, Fakhar damaged his left lower intercostal muscle.

Saim is recovering from an injury to his right ankle sustained during the opening day of the January Cape Town Test match against South Africa. For the HBL Pakistan Super League 10, which kicks off in Rawalpindi in April, both are expected to be fully healthy.

Babar Azam’s brother shares emotional post after his dropping from Pakistan T20I squad

Meanwhile, Babar Azam, the premier Pakistan batter, was the big name dropped from the Pakistan T20I squad. He has 4228 runs in 128 T20Is for Pakistan since his debut in 2016. He has 3 centuries and 36 half-centuries in the format with the highest score of 122 at an average of 39.83 and a strike rate of 129.22.

However, Babar Azam has not scored a century and has just 3 fifties in the 2024-25 season in T20Is. He has 525 runs in 19 games with an average of just over 20 and a strike rate of around 125.

This, coupled with his poor performance in the recent Champions Trophy 2025 tournament, the PCB decided to give him a break from the format, he has historically done well.

Meanwhile, his brother Safeer Azam reacted to Babar’s exclusion from Pakistan’s T20I squad and shared a photo of Babar’s Cap that he received for being part of the ICC T20I team of the year in 2024.

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Pakistan T20I squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousaf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan