Babar Azam back in Pakistan's Asia Cup 2025 squad? Star batter could be added on standby list - Reports

Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam was one of the big names to have missed out on their Asia Cup 2025 squad, which was announced last week.

The star batter has notably not featured in any of Pakistan's T20Is played in calendar year 2025, having last appeared against South Africa in December 2024.

Head coach Mike Hesson also said that the batter remains in consideration for the format, given he improves his strike rate and specifically bats differently against spin in the format.

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On the other hand, Aaqib Javed, the director of PCB's National High-Performance Centre, has sent a clear message to Pakistan's all-time highest run-scorer in the format to improve his performance if he wants to return to the squad.

However, a week after the team was announced, it is being reported that the opening batter could still be in the mix for the tournament.

Babar Azam likely to be added to Pakistan's stand-by list for the Asia Cup

The latest reports around Pakistan's squad for the competitions have stated that the 30-year-old was not given the NOC to participate in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and stay available as a stand-by player for the Asian giants.

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Previously, Babar has represented Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL for 5 matches in 2017, where he could only manage to score 79 runs.

On his last outing for Pakistan in T20Is, he was their second highest scorer in Centurion, scoring 31(20) in their 206-run effort in a losing cause.

Currently, the likes of Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan are alongside Fakhar Zaman are the preferred choices as openers.

What is Babar Azam's T20I record?

The Pakistan star is the second-highest run-scorer in the history of T20I cricket, with 4223 runs in 121 innings at an average of 39.83 and a strike rate of 129.22.

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Pakistan squad for Asia Cup 2025

Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.