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Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam is being considered for a return to the national T20I squad ahead of the upcoming tri-nation series and the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025, sources told on Tuesday.
The development comes as concerns grow over the fitness of opener Fakhar Zaman, who was injured during the recent T20I series against the West Indies. Due to the injury, Fakhar has been ruled out of both the T20I and ODI legs of the West Indies series.
According to sources, Fakhar has been instructed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to report to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore for rehabilitation. However, his participation in the Asia Cup remains doubtful at this stage.
As a backup plan, Babar Azam is now seen as a strong candidate to rejoin the T20I setup. However, his inclusion in the final squad will depend on his performance in the ODI series against the West Indies. If Babar performs well in the ODIs, he is likely to be included in the T20I squad for the Asia Cup.
Recently, Babar was also spotted meeting PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi along with ODI captain Mohammad Rizwan and pacer Naseem Shah during the second T20I against the West Indies.
The final squad for the Asia Cup is expected to be announced in the second week of August.
The Asia Cup 2025 will kick off on September 9 with a Group B match between Afghanistan and Hong Kong. Eight teams have been divided into two groups. Pakistan, India, UAE, and Oman are placed in Group A, while Group B consists of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong.
Pakistan will begin their campaign against Oman on September 12, followed by a highly anticipated clash with India on September 14. Their final group-stage match will be against the UAE on September 17.
ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 schedule:
Group stage:
Sep 9: Afghanistan vs Hong Kong
Sep 10: India vs UAE
Sep 11: Bangladesh vs Hong Kong
Sep 12: Pakistan vs Oman
Sep 13: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka
Sep 14: India vs Pakistan
Sep 15: UAE vs Oman, Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong
Sep 16: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan
Sep 17: Pakistan vs UAE
Sep 18: Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan
Sep 19: India vs Oman
Super Four stage:
Sep 20: B1 vs B2
Sep 21: A1 vs A2
Sep 23: A2 vs B1
Sep 24: A1 vs B2
Sep 25: A2 vs B2
Sep 26: A1 vs B1
Final:
Sep 28: Top two teams from Super Four
