Akram backs Babar as opener in CT

He says the entire team can bat around Babar if he plays 50 overs

Legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram has backed star batter Babar Azam to open the inning for Pakistan in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.

Pakistan announced their squad for the tri-nation series and the upcoming tournament on January 31.

While opening batter Fakhar Zaman made a return to the 15-member Pakistan squad, Saim Ayub was left out due to an ankle injury. At the time of the announcement, National selector Asad Shafiq said that former captain Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel will open the inning for Pakistan according to conditions.

Now, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram also backed the idea of making the star batter open the inning for Pakistan alongside Fakhar Zaman in the Champions Trophy 2025.

"I would like to see [Mohammad] Rizwan as a middle-order batter and maybe ask Babar to open the inning. Babar has a brilliant technique. If he plays 50 overs and scores a hundred, the batting will revolve around him," he said during a media talk.

The Pakistan squad also featured surprising returns of all-rounders Khushdil Shah and Faheem Ashraf, a decision which has been met with much criticism.

Wasim Akram also expressed his surprise over the inclusion of Ashraf, saying, "I wish him all the best, he's a talented cricketer. But in the past 20 matches, his bowling average is 100, and his batting average is 9."

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing ILT20 in Dubai, Pakistan captain Wasim Akram strongly criticised the selection of Ashraf as an all-rounder and Khushdil Shah. He also lashed out at the PCB for picking just one spinner, as Akram pointed out that India selected four spin bowlers for the tournament.

"Faheem Ashraf has been selected in this squad but in the last few months his batting average is 8 while his bowling average is 100. Apart from this, Khushdil Shah's performance has also not been good and we have selected only one spinner but India has selected 4 spinners," he said.

Another former Pakistan captain, Rashid Khan, echoed Akram's thoughts as he accused PCB of making a "political selection" in picking Ashraf.

"It seems a political selection," Latif told Telecomeasia.net. "Faheem has no recent performance to warrant a selection, and his record isn't impressive.

Notably, Faheem has picked 26 wickets in 34 ODIs at 46.30, and scored just 224 runs in 24 innings at 10.66.

Latif further outlined that Pakistan refrained from picking the bnew players who were trued during the series against Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. "This squad includes players like Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, and Saud Shakeel, who were not part of the system on the last three tours. Now, it is up to captain Mohammad Rizwan to select the best XI, just as Imran Khan did in 1992 and Younis Khan in 2009," he said.

Former Pakistan fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed joined the bandwagon in criticising PCB's selection as he called the squad "a joke."

"We have selected a squad that is a joke in our conditions," Tanvir told Telecomeasia.net. "Look at India, they have four quality spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel. And we? Just one spinner in Abrar Ahmed."

"This is a squad picked on perchi (recommendations), and for that, the selection committee must take responsibility. There was no need to change the squad that performed well on the last three fours," he added.

Pakistan squad for tri-nation series, Champions Trophy 2025:

Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Usman Khan (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.