Mohsin Naqvi, the chairperson of the Pakistan Cricket Board, (PCB) has indicated that he has only a little involvement in the national cricket team’s selection. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, two of Pakistan’s most experienced cricketers, were not named to the country’s 17-man roster for the Asia Cup 2025.
Naqvi highlighted that any debate about players for Pakistan occurs after conversations between the advisory body and the selection committee.
“First of all, I don’t have even 1% role in putting players into the team or taking them out. We have a selection committee and then an advisory body; they all sit together. The process goes through a lot — discussions that last 8-10 hours, sometimes for 2-3 days. Definitely, if a team is being selected, it’s in good hands; all professionals are there,” Naqvi was quoted as saying by News18.
Naqvi elaborated that PCB’s long-term vision was to nurture as many emerging talents as possible for them to gain sufficient exposure.
I’ve only told them one thing — whatever decision they take, it should be on merit, and I will support that. With whatever lot was available, I polished it and carried it forward. Now, our effort is to bring in as many new players as possible so that there is more competition in cricket and the best of the best can come forward,” he added.
Babar Azam and Rizwan last represented Pakistan in T20Is last December. They were not considered for any of the Men in Green’s last four T20I series: New Zealand (away), Bangladesh (home), Bangladesh (away) and West Indies (away). Despite the writing being on the wall, it was speculated that the two seasoned cricketers would be called up for the Asia Cup.
Pakistan are slotted in Group A alongside India, Oman and United Arab Emirates in the upcoming eight-team tournament. They will kickstart their campaign on September 12 against Oman at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium before meeting arch-rivals India at the same venue on September 14.
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