{"id":3036,"date":"2025-08-18T05:59:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T05:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/?p=3036"},"modified":"2025-08-18T05:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T05:59:16","slug":"babar-azam-and-rizwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/babar-azam-and-rizwan\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Key Players Are Game-Winners\u2019: Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan Humiliated After Asia Cup Snub"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were once again absent from Pakistan\u2019s T20I setup as the Asia Cup squad was announced on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohammad Hafeez Questions Babar Azam and Rizwan\u2019s \u201cKey Player\u201d Status<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Babar<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For over five years, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan<\/a> have been the backbone of Pakistan\u2019s batting across formats, often shaping the team\u2019s fortunes at the top of the order. However, their recent slump has drawn growing criticism, and both were notably left out of Pakistan\u2019s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup, as selectors continue to sideline them from T20Is following repeated failures in ICC tournaments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has now openly questioned their effectiveness and current standing as \u201ckey players.\u201d Speaking on his YouTube channel, Hafeez argued that the title of key player should be reserved for those who consistently win matches. \u201cCalling them key players would be wrong and unfair. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are not Pakistan cricket\u2019s key players at the moment. Key players are those who win matches for Pakistan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hafeez also highlighted other cricketers who have stepped up in recent years. \u201cIf 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\u2019t we talking about them? They are the current players winning matches for Pakistan<\/a>,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledging the duo\u2019s past contributions, Hafeez emphasized that both Babar Azam and Rizwan must re-establish themselves through performance rather than rely on past reputation. \u201cI 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,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hafeez takes aim at bowling unit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mohammad Hafeez has extended his criticism beyond Pakistan\u2019s batting, pointing to the pace attack as another area of concern. \u201cThe same goes for Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, they are also not giving match-winning performances for Pakistan,\u201d Hafeez observed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emphasizing the need for a long-term vision, he called on Pakistan cricket to invest in consistent performers who can shape the team\u2019s future. \u201cWe should focus on players who can contribute for the next 10\u201315 years. Our media criticizes one or two players and hypes one or two others, which is wrong. We need to talk about those who are actually performing<\/a>,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hafeez\u2019s comments highlight a growing debate within Pakistan cricket about relying on past stars versus nurturing new talent capable of sustaining success over the coming decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sign up fast for\u00a0E2BET777<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0now and claim your free bonus with your first registration!<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were once again absent from Pakistan\u2019s T20I setup as the Asia Cup squad was announced on Sunday. Mohammad Hafeez Questions Babar Azam and Rizwan\u2019s \u201cKey Player\u201d Status For over five years, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been the backbone of Pakistan\u2019s batting across formats, often shaping the team\u2019s fortunes […]\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[581],"class_list":["post-3036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket-news","tag-babar-azam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3036"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3063,"href":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3036\/revisions\/3063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e2bet777.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}