Why Are Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan Not Playing in the NZ vs PAK T20I Series?

Pakistan began the first T20I under Salman Ali Agha’s captaincy in New Zealand with the team reduced to 1/3 inside the first three overs. This quickly became 11/4 as the top-order was demolished by Kyle Jamieson and Co. in Christchurch. They were bowled out for 91 with Jacob Duffy picking up four wickets. The question on every Pakistan fan’s lips at the moment is why Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, the glue in the side across formats, are absent.

Pakistan handed over debuts to three players – Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Ali, and Abdul Samad – in the first T20I. Hasan Nawaz opened the batting and was dismissed for a duck off two balls, looking to slice Jacob Duffy. With the top-order fumbling, Pakistan sorely missed Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. But why are they not in New Zealand for this series?

The straightforward explanation is that they are not playing in the T20I series against New Zealand because they were not selected for the squad. Pakistan made several changes after their poor performance in the Champions Trophy 2025.

Why Were Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan dropped from Pakistan T20I squad?

Pakistan’s selectors decided to try a different approach in T20Is. They removed Babar and Rizwan to bring in more aggressive batters. The team has struggled with slow starts in T20Is and the management wanted to change that. Since 2023 in T20Is, Babar and Rizwan have the most runs for Pakistan – 868 and 779 runs at averages of 34.72 and 43.27 respectively.

But, the issue revolves around strike rate and the evolving approach to modern T20 cricket. While Babar has a strike rate of 134.99, Rizwan’s strike rate is 121.33 in this period. Imad Wasim also recently criticised Pakistan’s go-slow approach in this format, stating that they were behind the rest of the world.

Pakistan dropped Rizwan as T20I captain after he lost all four completed matches as a full-time skipper. They also left out Babar while testing a new opening combination for better team balance.

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Pakistan picked younger and more attacking batters. Mohammad Haris, Omair Yousuf, and Hasan Nawaz are the new options for the top order. Hasan Nawaz, despite playing only 21 T20s, has built a reputation for his high-risk approach at the top. With Saim Ayub unavailable due to injury, Pakistan gave Nawaz an opportunity to open in the first T20I. Abdul Samad, another new selection, has not played in the PSL yet but did well in domestic T20s.

Pakistan named Salman Agha as captain and brought Shadab Khan back as vice-captain for the T20I squad. Despite questions about Agha’s T20 credentials, especially his limited role in his PSL team, Pakistan appointed him as skipper for his stability at the top.

Pakistan T20I squad vs New Zealand: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Agha (c), Irfan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyaan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan.

Pakistan wants to play a more attacking style of cricket. The selectors have moved away from experienced players like Babar and Rizwan to give chances to new players. However, the early result is questionable with the young batters struggling to adjust to the pace, bounce, and movement in New Zealand. The upcoming matches against New Zealand will test if this strategy works before the T20 World Cup next year.

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