Babar, Rizwan left out of 17-member squad for Asia Cup, UAE tri-series

PCB's Director High Performance Aqib Javed (left) speaks during a press conference alongside Pakistan's white-ball head coach Mike Hesson as they announce Green Shirts' squad for Asia Cup, UAE tri-series on August 17, 2025. — Facebook@PakistanCricketBoard

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced a 17-member Green Shirts' squad for the upcoming UAE tri-series and Asia Cup 2025.

All-rounder Salman Ali Agha has been retained as captain of the 17-member squad. However, senior players Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been left out of the lineup.

Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf are part of the lineup, while youngsters Saim Ayub, Khushdil Shah, and Hussain Talat have also been included.

The squad further features Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, and Mohammad Haris, along with Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, and Hasan Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Mirza, and Sufyan Moqim.

The tri-series, featuring Pakistan, Afghanistan, and hosts UAE, will be played in Sharjah from August 29 to September 7. Following that, the Asia Cup 2025 is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from September 9 to 28.

"This is the same group that is playing, hopefully these players who are playing will do well in the future too," PCB's Director High Performance Aqib Javed said during the press conference.

"There is continuity in the players from the three series. Our focus is on winning at the moment and continuity for that, the team is playing well in T20I," Javed said.

On Salman Mirza's inclusion in the team, the former cricketer credited his performance in Bangladesh.

"The player who performs will play, he should play," Javed remarked.

"Sahibzada Farhan has made a comeback in the team, Aqib Javed Saim has also improved his performance.

"The player who performs will play [for the team]," he stressed.

On the exclusion of star player Babar Azam and ODI captain Mohammad Rizwan, Javed said: "We cannot say that we will never consider Babar and Rizwan. The current players have been given a chance, Babar and Rizwan have a chance to come back".

"The seniors now have a chance to play in the Big Bash, only those who perform well will be included in the team," he added.

Meanwhile, expressing his views, Pakistan's white-ball head coach Mike Hesson, while reflecting on Babar's performance in the recent West Indies series, said that the star player played well in the first match.

"It is a tough decision to judge a player's form based on three matches. He [Babar] has been asked to improve in some areas," Hesson said.

"If Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan play like the others,they will definitely play T20Is. No one has a problem with them. However, we have good options at the moment," the coach noted.

17-member squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufyan Moqim

17-member squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufyan Moqim

Tri-series schedule

August 9 — Afghanistan v Pakistan

August 30 — UAE v Pakistan

September 1 — UAE v Afghanistan

September 2 — Pakistan v Afghanistan

September 4 — Pakistan v UAE

September 5 — Afghanistan v UAE

September 7 — Final

Asia Cup 2025

September 9 — Afghanistan vs Hong Kong

September 10 — India vs UAE

September 11 — Bangladesh vs Hong Kong

September 12 — Pakistan vs Oman

September 13 — Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka

September 14 — India vs Pakistan

September 15 — UAE vs Oman

September 15 — Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong

September 16 — Bangladesh vs Afghanistan

September 17 — Pakistan vs UAE

September 18 — Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan

September 19 — India vs Oman

Super Four stage

September 20 — B1 vs B2

September 21 — A1 vs A2

September 23 —A2 vs B1

September 24 — A1 vs B2

September 25 — A2 vs B2

September 26 — A1 vs B1

September 28: Final

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