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Pakistan have dropped Babar Azam and Saim Ayub from the ODI squad for the Bangladesh series starting March 11. Six uncapped players are included.
Babar Azam has been dropped for the ODI series against Bangladesh. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Pakistan have dropped Babar Azam and Saim Ayub from its ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series away in Bangladesh, which begins on March 11. Six uncapped players find mention within the team, indicating that the Pakistan Cricket Board has hit the overhaul button after the 2026 T20 World Cup flop show.
Sahibzada Farhan, Pakistan’s highest run-scorer and by far one of the best player within the World Cup is probably the most notable amongst them, and appears set to make his ODI debut. Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Saad Masood, Shamyl Hussain are the opposite latest names — all played against England Lions for Pakistan Shaheens in Abu Dhabi.
The inclusion of Ghazi Ghori adds one other wicketkeeping option alongside Mohammad Rizwan, who continues within the squad as the first gloveman.
Aside from Babar and Ayub, 4 huge omissions from the ODI squad that took on Sri Lanka within the last 50-over series in 2025 are Fakhar Zaman, Haseebullah, Mohammad Nawaz and pacer Naseem Shah. Shaheen Shah Afridi stays captain, while core players akin to Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Salman Ali Agha have retained their spots.
End of Babar Azam’s profession?
Babar and Ayub have clearly faced the brunt of their poor performances on the T20 World Cup. It was a distinct format, however the writing was on the wall after they were snubbed from the team’s final Super Eights match against Sri Lanka, where they might restrict the co-hosts to 147 needed for a semi-final entry.
It’s a damning one for Babar, once the country’s first name on the sheet across formats. His T20I form has been abhorrent for quite a while now, with the right-hander struggling to regulate to the trendy demands of the sport. But ODIs are arguably his best format — he even scored a century within the aforementioned Sri Lanka series — and he’d feel that tough done by the choice.
It looks like unless he alters something drastic in his game or puts up a powerful domestic season, his profession is moving rapidly towards some extent of no return.
Ayub wouldn’t be too pleased either. While his performances against Sri Lanka weren’t great, his ODI numbers are stellar — 751 runs in 17 innings at 46.94 with a strike rate of 100.
March 04, 2026, 16:23 IST
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