India veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had briefly been ommitted from the ICC ODI rankings but were then reappeared in their original second and fourth places respectively.

Former Pakistan bowler Tanveer Ahmed urged Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to consider retiring if disrespected after Asia Cup snub, citing Virat Kohli.

Pakistan’s Asia Cup 2025 squad sparks controversy as Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are dropped over strike rate concerns, while captain Agha Salman’s weaker numbers expose glaring hypocrisy in team selection.

Kamran Akmal had recently asked for Babar Azam to be dropped from all white-ball formats, but made a massive U-turn after the former Pakistan captain was not included in the squad for Asia Cup 2025.

Babar Azam faces significant challenges after being excluded from the Pakistan central contracts for the 2025-26 season, dropping from Category A. He has also been omitted from the squad for the upcoming series,

Wristspinners Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem have also secured spots in Pakistan's squad. They are joined by Salman Mirza, who was Pakistan's leading wicket-taker with eight wickets in the recent away T20I series against Bangladesh.

The star duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan continued to remain absent from T20Is as Pakistan announced their Asia Cup squad on Sunday.

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson took to social media to explain the Asia Cup squad selection after facing criticism for leaving out Babar Azam criticism.

Pakistan coach Mike Hesson highlights Babar Azam's potential return to the T20I team depends on improving his play against spin and increasing his strike rate. Azam's exclusion from the upcoming tri-series squad comes despite his strong domestic performance.