Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan faced immense backlash, as well as some support from their loyal fans, due to their poor performance and prolonged form slump in the recently played ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Both players, who are considered prime batsmen of Pakistan, ended up failing to deliver what the nation was expecting from them. Due to the traumatic ending of Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025, the Pakistan Cricket Board decided to make a decision and dropped both players from T20, as they were already struggling in the One Day format.
This decision of the management raises several questions about why both players have been dropped from T20 based on their performance in the One Day tournament. However, seeing their performance in the current season of HBL PSL X makes things quite clear and understandable for the fans as to why the PCB made that move.
Captaincy Woes in PSL X for Both Players:
Season X of the PSL commenced on April 11, 2025. Mohammad Rizwan is leading the Multan Sultans, while Babar Azam captains Peshawar Zalmi. With almost half the season over, neither player has showcased attacking captaincy. Multan Sultans currently sit at the bottom of the points table with one win and have been eliminated from the tournament. Meanwhile, Peshawar Zalmi is in fourth place with two wins. Babar Azam has an overall 35.89% win percentage as a captain, which is the lowest amongst all the captains, even Rizwan, after such a bad tournament, has an overall 61.11% win percentage.
Rizwan’s Struggles Despite Scoring Runs:
Since Multan Sultans’ opening game against Karachi Kings, Rizwan has performed well with the bat, scoring a century in the first match at NSK. He has also played notable knocks, including 76* against Lahore Qalandars, 38 and 36 runs against Islamabad United, 15 runs against Peshawar Zalmi, and 44* against Quetta Gladiators. Rizwan has scored 346* runs this season and holds the Hanif Mohammad cap. While his knocks against Karachi and Lahore were impressive, his other scores have been average. However, his team’s losses have overshadowed his efforts and raised questions about his captaincy woes.
Babar’s Struggles with the Bat:
Babar has struggled not only with his captaincy woes but also with batting in the current PSL season. Despite being Pakistan’s prime batsman, his form slump has disappointed his fan base. Babar has been playing slow innings in PSL X, scoring 56* runs off 42 balls against Qalandars and 46 runs off 41 balls against Karachi. His scores against Multan and Islamabad were 2 and 1, respectively. Babar’s form slump has been a major concern for his team, and fans are eagerly waiting for him to get back to his best form.
Also see: Babar Azam Captain Achievements for Pakistan throughout these four years
Amir and Babar Rivalry:
There has been a noticeable dislike between Amir and Babar, possibly due to Babar’s form slump and perceived selfish batting approach, as well as the PCB’s favoritism towards Babar. In a recent interview, when asked about his rivalry with Babar, Amir replied,
“I don’t have a versus with anyone; for me, Babar is the same as a tailender.”
Fans expected a competitive clash between the two stars, but it ended up one-sided, with Amir getting Babar out twice. Babar’s scores against Quetta were 12 and 0.
An Unwanted Record for Babar Azam:
The current PSL season hasn’t favored Babar Azam, with both his batting and leadership skills under scrutiny. Following his form slump in PSL X, Babar has now become the third batter with the most ducks in PSL history, having scored 9 ducks so far. Imad leads the list with 12 ducks, followed by Wahab Riaz with 10 ducks.
The slump form and poor performance of both players may jeopardize their chances of making it into Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming T20 series against Bangladesh. With the PCB having already dropped them from T20, their current performance has vindicated the decision, casting doubt on their potential return to Pakistan’s T20 side.
