The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) might take some monumental decisions as they look to start a new era under their new T20I skipper, Salman Ali Agha.
Agha lost his maiden T20I series as Pakistan's new T20I skipper against New Zealand. Now they are shaping up for their next T20I series against West Indies starting from July 31.
Pakistan did win the T20I series against Bangladesh. However, they are expected to be tested against the more seasoned Windies side. Meanwhile, their newly appointed white-ball coach Mike Hesson, in consultation with Salman Ali Agha, are considering dropping the senior and experienced trio of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi.
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Pakistan Wants to Move On From Babar, Rizwan And Shaheen
The management is reportedly unhappy with their form and more importantly their behaviour. In a report by Telecom Asia Sport by a senior Pakistan journalist, PCB are considering dropping the trio going ahead in the T20I format. Pakistan play Bangladesh on July 20, 22, and 24 before flying to Florida to play five T20Is against the West Indies.
“Pakistan's management and selection committee want to move on from Babar and Rizwan despite Hesson and Salman both saying that the door was not shut on the two former openers, whose strike rate and batting form in T20Is were part of Pakistan's problems in recent defeats,” a senior official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) told Telecom Asia.
Pakistan in the near future will be playing T20I cricket against tougher nations in a bid to prepare the side for the next edition of the T20 World Cup in 2026.
Speaking about the recent form of their three experienced Pakistan cricketers, Shaheen went for plenty against Tim Seifert in the recent series against the Kiwis. He took just two wickets in four matches at an economy rate of 10.23 — and was dropped for the final game.
Meanwhile, as far as Babar and Rizwan are concerned, Hesson met them in Lahore in between a training session. He was keen to include them for the upcoming tours. However, it was former Pakistan interim coach Aaqib Javed who suggested otherwise, saying that the home series against Bangladesh would be a good way to test the youngsters.
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Pakistan To Play Heavy Diet Of T20I Cricket
Pakistan will be playing T20I series against teams like Afghanistan, Ireland, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Australia in a bid to prepare themselves for the T20 World Cup 2026 in Sri Lanka and India.
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