"Hamare Saamne Virat Kohli Hai": Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan Sent Blunt Message After Asia Cup Snub
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have received a request from a former Pakistan cricketer after the duo were left out of Pakistan's Asia Cup 2025 squad.
- Pakistan stalwarts Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were left out of the country's Asia Cup 2025 squad
- Former pacer Tanveer Ahmed urged them to consider retirement if they feel disrespected by the decision
- "Announce your retirement from international cricket. We have Virat Kohli's example in front of us": Tanveer
Pakistan stalwarts Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were not included in their Asia Cup 2025 squad, signalling a clear decision from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to move forward from the two experienced batters in the shortest format. Babar and Rizwan have not played a single T20I in 2025. On this note, former Pakistan pacer Tanveer Ahmed has urged Babar and Rizwan to announce their retirement, in case they did not feel respected by the board. He also used Virat Kohli's Test retirement as an instance.
"Meri Babar Azam aur Rizwan say request hai, ager aap log yeh samajhte hain aap logon ke izzat nahi hain, toh retirement le lo international cricket se (My request to Babar and Rizwan is that if you feel you're not being respected, then announce your retirement from international cricket.)," tweeted Tanveer.
"Humare saamne Virat Kohli ke example hain. Izzat apne haath main hain (Virat Kohli's example is there in front of us. Respect is in your own hands)," he added.
Babar and Rizwan have come under immense criticism following Pakistan's shock group stage exit from the T20 World Cup 2024.
However, Tanveer used Kohli's example to get his message across to the Pakistan batters.
Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier this year, ahead of India's five-match series to England. Reports stated that Kohli was no longer a guaranteed starter for India in Tests.
However, despite Tanveer's suggestion to Babar and Rizwan to follow Kohli's example, there is no proof that Kohli retired from Tests after feeling disrespected.
Kohli continues to be a crucial part of India's ODI squad, having made 218 runs en route to the Champions Trophy 2025 title earlier this year. Kohli even slammed a century against Pakistan during the tournament, marshalling a successful run chase in typical Kohli fashion.
On the other hand, Babar and Rizwan's form have not been encouraging. The duo failed to make much of an impression as Pakistan were recently defeated for the first time in 34 years in an ODI series by West Indies.
Babar Azam
Virat Kohli
Pakistan Cricket Team