Asia Cup: ‘Stop calling them key gamers’ – Mohammad Hafeez slams Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan after Pakistan squad snub | Cricket News

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan (Getty Images)

For years, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been seen because the spine of Pakistan’s batting unit. But with each senior batters ignored of the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, questions over their place within the T20 setup have resurfaced. Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has now added gasoline to the controversy, bluntly declaring that the duo now not qualify as “key players” for the nationwide aspect.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Speaking on his YouTube channel, Hafeez argued that the “key player” tag belongs solely to these constantly profitable matches for Pakistan — a class he believes neither Babar nor Rizwan at the moment match into. “Calling them key players would be wrong and unfair. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are not Pakistan cricket’s key players at the moment. Key players are those who win matches for Pakistan,” he mentioned.Instead, Hafeez pointed to a brand new technology of performers carrying the staff’s combat in latest instances. “If we look at the past year and a half to two years, the players showing consistent performance are Salman Ali Agha, Saeem Ayub and Hasan Nawaz. Why aren’t we talking about them? They are the current players winning matches for Pakistan” he added.Hafeez burdened that the senior batters should re-earn their reputations. “I think Babar and Rizwan need to be concerned about their positions in the team. They need to prove themselves as good players first; key players come later. Both were good in the past, but now they are not delivering results,” he remarked.Even Pakistan’s bowling spearheads didn’t escape Hafeez’s evaluation. “The same goes for Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, they are also not giving match-winning performances for Pakistan,” he mentioned, earlier than urging the board to undertake a long-term imaginative and prescient.“We should focus on players who can contribute for the next 10–15 years. Our media criticises one or two players and hypes one or two others, which is wrong. We need to talk about those who are actually performing,” Hafeez concluded.