New Delhi: Babar Azam fans in Pakistan have taken his absence from the Asia Cup squad and demotion in his central contract to heart. They want PM Shehbaz Sharif to look into the matter. While analysts say it is a good move, fans are not ready for their dear cricketer to be treated this way.
Two Days after Babar and Mohammad Rizwan were dropped out of the upcoming Asia Cup in UAE, PCB’s new central contract list for 2025, released on Tuesday, demoted their categories too. Now there are no players in Category A, marking a first in the 21-year history of Pakistan’s contract system. The two were the only ones in the category.
Both Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been struggling with form in past months. Babar, who last featured in a T20I in December 2024, failed to deliver in the ODI series against the West Indies, managing scores of 47, 0, and 9.
Rizwan, too, has remained absent from Pakistan’s T20I matches this year and underperformed in the Caribbean ODIs, scoring just 16 and a 0.
Some fans on X requested PM Shehbaz Sharif to “look into this @TheRealPCB mess” after Babar was dropped from the Asia Cup squad.
One person, Fahad Shafique, directly addressed the PM and said, “Pakistan Needs Babar Azam. Period! Babar Azam doesn’t need Cat B contract.This is injustice to the National Hero – Pride of Pakistan.”
Cricket analyst Faizan Lakhani offered a pointed interpretation of the PCB’s strategy on X: “PCB’s decision not to award a Category A contract to anyone… sends a strong message: no one is larger than life. If you don’t perform & meet the criteria, you won’t get paid.”
But others are not convinced that the PCB has made the right call. Critics pointed to Test captain Shan Masood’s demotion to Category D, calling it a clear sign that the board is sidelining the longest and most traditional format of the game.
Hamza Majeed, a Pakistani X user, wrote: “Category demotion of your main Test players and promotions of T20 players clearly shows how PCB is completely ignoring Test Format. PCB should be ashamed of themselves.”
Lakhani, however, responded with pragmatism: “Perhaps T20 players were placed in the higher category because the next 12 months are busier for them… while we play barely four Tests”.
Ex PCB director Sami ul Hasan agreed. “Test captain & vice-captain in Cat D & C, respectively & white-ball captains in Cat B. This reflects the 2024-25 season and also sets 12-month priorities of the side,” he wrote on X.
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‘Massive downfall of Pakistan cricket’
Disgruntled Babar fans labelled it ‘criminal categorisation’. One person on X just said, “Performative cricket board”.
Ali Shan Momin wrote on X: “No A category which means not even a single player is bankable and dependable in their respective departments. Massive downfall of Pakistan cricket.”
Another wants Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan’s interior minister and pcb chief, to be “thrown out”.
“If mohsin naqvi can’t deal with PCB then throw him out …. always a pethatic (sic) selection from this aqib javed. Where is babar azam in the team ??? Why you are ruining cricket in pakistan???” an X user said.
Some, however, approved of the move. Supporters of the decision pointed to recent results. While Pakistan defeated England 2–1 in a home Test series last year and won a historic ODI series in Australia, they’ve also suffered a string of disappointing losses. They finished last in the 2023–25 World Test Championship, failed to progress past the group stages of both the Champions Trophy and the T20 World Cup, and were recently beaten 2–1 by Bangladesh in a T20 series.
Some conspiracy theorists were also at play. One X user said that according to insiders, “PCB urged Babar Azam to play the Asia Cup, hoping his presence would ease the criticism. But Babar reportedly said: ‘People demand more accountability from me than from the leaders of this country, so I cannot let them down.’”
Mike Hesson, the international coach for Pakistan Test squad, had earlier tweeted saying, “We’ve put together what we believe is a highly competitive squad following the recent T20I series….Our squad features five front line seamers to adapt according to UAE conditions, along with two attacking mystery spinners. With depth in batting, much improved fielding side along with the bowlers mentioned above we overall have an excellent balanced squad”.
One person on X summed up the sentiment: “As a @babarazam258 fan, I can say Coach @CoachHesson is absolutely right—Babar needs to improve against spin—but the way he’s been treated feels disrespectful.”
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)