Babar Azam, Naseem Shah withdraw from National T20 Cup: Details
What's the story
Star Pakistan players Babar Azam and Naseem Shah have pulled out of the upcoming National T20 Cup. The tournament, scheduled to begin on March 14, will comprise a combination of senior and emerging players of Pakistan's cricket team. The event will witness participation from 20 teams divided into four groups. However, the hectic international calendar has kept these two star players away from this local event.
Missed opportunity
A chance to shine missed
The National T20 Cup was seen as an opportunity for Babar and Naseem to showcase their skills in the shortest format of cricket. This comes after they were dropped from the T20I setup for the upcoming series against New Zealand. Despite his phenomenal record in this format, Babar hasn't scored a half-century in his last 11 matches. Meanwhile, Naseem's performance has been underwhelming, having taken only 10 wickets across his last 10 games.
Performance review
Disappointing Champions Trophy campaign
Both players were included in Pakistan's squad for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. But they didn't live up to fan expectations in this tournament. Babar could only score one half-century against New Zealand and was dismissed cheaply against India. As a result, Pakistan were knocked out of the competition after two losses. Their consolation match against Bangladesh was washed out, leaving them at the bottom of Group A in this prestigious tournament.
Underperformance
Naseem's underwhelming performance in the tournament
Naseem also failed to leave a mark in the Champions Trophy, picking just two wickets in the two games he played. He was wicketless in the India game. His economy was 5.55 with with best figures of 2/63 (against New Zealand). Overall, the right-arm seamer has taken 47 wickets from 25 ODIs at an average of 23.87.