Aqib Javed breaks silence on Babar Azam's T20I exclusion

Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Director of High Performance and national selector Aqib Javed opened up about dropping ace batter Babar Azam from the national T20I side.

Speaking in an interview with Crickwick, Aqib responded to the question regarding Babar’s exclusion from the T20I team after the tour of South Africa in December 2024.

Babar Azam was dropped from the Pakistan team following the 2024 tour of South Africa. The right-handed batter was reportedly sidelined from the shorter format amid criticism of his strike rate, which was deemed below modern-day standards.

However, the 31-year-old recently made his comeback in the limited-overs format during the series against South Africa.

“Look, these are just common opinions people have — everyone has their own views. One thing a person must understand is that when you’re working in a certain position, criticism will come with it,” he said regarding his role.

He discussed praise and criticism when an individual is in a managerial role, noting that the scrutiny for players depends on their performance.

“Credit always goes to the players, while criticism comes to the management — and I’m well aware of that.

“I always tell players that their praise or criticism depends entirely on their own performance. If you perform well, no one will criticize you; if you perform poorly, people will. That’s how it is,” the 52-year-old explained.

Aqib clarified that dropping Babar was a collective decision and it was not his decision.

“As for Babar, why would it matter to us whether we target one player or another? People say that since someone [Babar] was dropped from the T20 side, I must have a personal issue with him — but if that’s the case, then am I being personal with Babar only in one format?” he questioned.

“For instance, I may not have any issue with him in Tests, only in T20s. And by the way, who am I, as an individual, to select or drop anyone? These are collective decisions — made by the entire selection committee.

I’m not at the level where I can favor or go against any player on a personal basis,” he concluded.