{"id":131421,"date":"2025-09-12T04:24:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T04:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/131421\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T04:24:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T04:24:07","slug":"asia-cup-2025-have-pakistan-been-up-to-the-mark-without-babar-azam-mohammad-rizwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/131421\/","title":{"rendered":"Asia Cup 2025: Have Pakistan been up to the mark without Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once Indispensable, Now Replaceable?<\/p>\n

Pakistan head into the Asia Cup 2025 without two of their most trusted names, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Neither has featured in T20Is this year, with selectors consciously steering the team towards fresh combinations. The question is inevitable: has Pakistan truly managed to reinvent itself without its most reliable opening pair?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, and others have had their chances, but have they shown the steadiness to match Babar\u2019s calm or Rizwan\u2019s grit? Can the middle order, long seen as Pakistan\u2019s soft spot, carry the weight against top opposition? And will the think-tank strike the right balance between experimentation and experience when it matters most?<\/p>\n

As the tournament begins, the real contest may not just be against their rivals but against their own ability to succeed without the two men once considered untouchable.<\/p>\n

Have Pakistan won enough?<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s T20I journey in 2025 without the trusted Babar Azam\u2013Mohammad Rizwan opening pair has been one of mixed fortunes, marked by trial, error, and flashes of promise. Their first real test came in March against New Zealand, where a fragile batting line-up collapsed repeatedly, losing four of five games \u2014 a stark reminder of how reliant Pakistan had been on their senior duo over the years.<\/p>\n

Back on home soil in May, Pakistan bounced back emphatically, sweeping Bangladesh 3-0 with fluent, fearless batting. Consistency remained a challenge, as a July tour to Bangladesh ended in a 1-2 loss, testing the team\u2019s resilience. August offered redemption with a hard-fought 2\u20131 series win over the West Indies in the USA. Thereafter, Pakistan won the UAE Tri-Series<\/a>, winning four out of five matches in Sharjah.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s T20I record in 2025<\/p>\n

Pakistan vs New Zealand in New Zealand (March 2025): Lost 1-4Pakistan vs Bangladesh in Pakistan (May 2025): Won 3-0Pakistan vs Bangladesh in Bangladesh (July 2025): Lost 1-2Pakistan vs West Indies in the USA (August 2025): Won 2-1UAE Tri-Series (2025): Won 4 of 5 matchesHave Pakistan found new openers?<\/p>\n

By the numbers, Pakistan\u2019s most successful opening tale is still written by Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Over 56 games, the pair piled up 2,522 runs, stitched together eight century stands and 10 half-century partnerships, averaging 46.70 at a strike rate near 132. They offered the team a solid, almost bankable start.<\/p>\n

Yet, as T20 cricket evolved into a format where powerplays demanded run rates touching 10 an over, their steady approach began to look out of sync with the times.<\/p>\n

Enter Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub, the new experiment at the top. In just 11 innings together, they have managed 346 runs, averaging 31.45. The real difference, though, lies in their tempo\u2014striking at around 143, they thrive on taking risks early and attacking from the first ball.<\/p>\n

Their partnership may not yet boast the weight of Babar-Rizwan\u2019s record, but it signals a bold shift towards a more modern, fearless opening style.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s T20I opening partnerships in 2025<\/p>\n

Sahibzada Farhan & Saim Ayub: 11 inns, 346 runs, Highest score -138, Average 31.45, Strike-rate – 142.83Hasan Nawaz & Mohammad Haris: 5 inns, 82 runs, Highest score – 74, Average -16.40, Strike-rate – 146.33Fakhar Zaman & Saim Ayub: 3 inns, 23 runs, Highest score – 18, Average – 7.66, Strike-rate – 115Can Pakistan end 13-year-old?<\/p>\n

For over a decade, Pakistan\u2019s Asia Cup dreams have remained just that\u2014dreams. Much of their recent journey has revolved around Babar and Rizwan, a duo whose partnerships often defined Pakistan\u2019s T20 story.<\/p>\n

But with the selectors moving beyond them, the big question is whether Pakistan can finally end a 13-year wait without the pair that once symbolised stability at the top. The tournament now feels like a litmus test for the next generation\u2014fearless, raw, and unburdened by history.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s bowling arsenal still has the firepower to tilt contests, but success will hinge on whether new batting combinations can withstand pressure and replicate the calm assurance Babar and Rizwan once provided.<\/p>\n

In many ways, their absence has become the peg around which this campaign will be judged. If Pakistan can rise without them, it won\u2019t just break the drought\u2014it will signal true reinvention.<\/p>\n

– Ends<\/p>\n

Published By: <\/p>\n

sabyasachi chowdhury<\/p>\n

Published On: <\/p>\n

Sep 12, 2025<\/p>\n

Tune In<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once Indispensable, Now Replaceable? Pakistan head into the Asia Cup 2025 without two of their most trusted names,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131422,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[10223,29233,1721,61871,34087,61870,20453,61869,20451,31954,101,53668,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-131421","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-asia-cup-2025","9":"tag-babar-azam","10":"tag-cricket","11":"tag-cricket-team-reinvention","12":"tag-mohammad-rizwan","13":"tag-pakistan-bowling","14":"tag-pakistan-cricket","15":"tag-pakistan-opening-partnership","16":"tag-sahibzada-farhan","17":"tag-saim-ayub","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-t20i-cricket","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}