Former Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim has expressed his strong support for star batter Babar Azam and former T20I captain Mohammad Rizwan, urging critics to trust their capabilities in the T20 format.
Speaking in a recent interview with a local sports platform, Imad highlighted the need for adaptability and a fresh mindset in T20 cricket.
"Simple is that — that should be the message and if they are willing to change it, if they want to play happy for them because they are such big players such big names for Pakistan and fans because people want to see them play like this and I am specifically talking about T20 cricket," Imad stated.
Responding to recent debates surrounding Babar Azam's role in the national side, the 36-year-old clarified that his earlier comments were specifically focused on T20 cricket and not a critique of Babar's performances in other formats.
"I am not talking about ODI or Test cricket because in ODI cricket Babar has got the best record in the world he will never be dropped to be honest and even in Test cricket so no question about Babar's performance like it's 50-over format you need some players to play like that and Babar does it better than anyone else in the world so One-Day cricket is totally different," he explained.
Imad further stressed the importance of introspection among senior players when it comes to the T20 format.
"But T20 I am talking about, I think they need to reflect if they they want to play T20 cricket and I know they can play and hopefully they will turn up and prove everybody wrong and I should be the one who will praise them," he concluded.
For the unversed, Babar Azam — who led Pakistan in three consecutive ICC Men's T20 World Cups (2021, 2022, and 2024) — last played a T20I in December 2023.
Since then, he has missed both the home series against New Zealand in March and the ongoing three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, which began on May 28 in Lahore.
Babar, who has faced criticism for his dip in form in T20Is, has not scored a half-century since his 75-run innings against Ireland in May 2023. He has represented Pakistan in 128 T20Is, scoring 4,223 runs at an average of 39.83, including three centuries and 36 fifties.
Earlier this year, both Babar and Rizwan were left out of the five-match T20I series in New Zealand as selectors looked to give opportunities to younger players. The duo has yet to return to the T20I setup since then.
In a notable change, Mohammad Rizwan was recently removed from the T20I captaincy after leading the side in just two series.
All-rounder Salman Ali Agha was named the new skipper and recently guided Pakistan to a dominant 3-0 series win over Bangladesh in Lahore.
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