Same faces will replace newcomers in Pakistan cricket team: Basit Ali

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has slammed the decision to rest senior players including Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Riwan after the side’s dismal Champions Trophy 2025 outing.

Reports had emerged that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was set to rest senior players for the upcoming New Zealand tour.

The PCB was reportedly discussing appointing a new captain to replace Mohammad Rizwan, who is among the senior players to be given rest for the white-ball away series.

Reacting to the reports, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali called it a farce to rest Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi instead of sidelining them from the T20I side.

Speaking at ARY News show ‘Har Lamha Purjosh,’ the former cricketer said that senior players will be given rest only to bring them back to the team following youngsters’ failure in the upcoming tour.

“It will be said that Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi faced injustice in team selection,” Basit Ali said.

The former Pakistan cricketer urged for dropping the likes of Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I side and introduce new faces in the team.

“You should tell them that we will not consider you for the T20I team,” Basit Ali said.

Pertinent to note here that Pakistan’s senior players copped heat after they crashed out of the Champions Trophy 2025 following successive losses to New Zealand and India.

They ended the tournament at the bottom of Group A with a point after their last fixture against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain in Rawalpindi.

While fans and former cricketers slammed the team over the disappointing ending to the Champions Trophy 2025, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi received the most criticism over their failures at the big stage.