Babar Azam's International Career Over? Star Cricketer Dropped from Pakistan Squad

After a disappointing outing in the T20 World Cup 2026, the Pakistan Cricket Team is now all set to lock horns with Bangladesh in a three-match ODI series. The opening game will be played on March 11 followed by the last two games on March 13 and 15 respectively. All three games will be played in Mirpur.

With the Pakistan tour of Bangladesh around the corner, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have announced the squad for the three-match series. The series will begin the road of ICC Cricket World Cup 2027, which will be the next ICC event. Interestingly, country's star cricketer Babar Azam has been dropped from the team in a massive development.

Babar Azam Dropped from Pakistan ODI Squad

Pakistan will be captained by Shaheen Shah Afridi in the three-match series against Bangladesh. But what was surprising was that the PCB has dropped Babar Azam from the squad after his poor performances in the ICC T20 World Cup recently.

Babar, who is arguably one of the best ODI batsmen, looked in torrid form in the T20 World Cup 2026 and was even dropped from the XI for the tournament's last game against Sri Lanka. With him being left out, there are speculations over the future of Babar Azam ODI career.

Overall in the T20 World Cup 2026, he slammed just 91 runs at an average of 22 and a strike rate below 115. This comes as a massive blow for Babar Azam as his future looks bleak for him. He will now have an opportunity to regain his form in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and reclaim his spot back in the side, both in the ODIs as well as the T20Is.

Haris Rauf Returns, Sahibzada Farhan Included

After missing the T20 World Cup 2026, Haris Rauf returns to the team along with Mohammad Rizwan, who is one of the best wicketkeepers in the world. Pakistan’s hero at the tournament, Sahibzada Farhan also makes the cut into the ODI team for the Bangladesh series.

Pakistan’s T20I captain Salman Ali Agha, was also named in the side. It was expected that the mystery spinner Usman Tariq would be there as well, especially after his performances in the T20 World Cup 2026. However, his name wasn’t there as PCB gave opportunities to other youngsters.

Pakistan would be keen to make a strong comeback after a poor campaign in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. They reached the Super 8 stage of the tournament, where they won just one game. Adding to this disappointment, the players were also fined as well for the poor performance.

Pakistan ODI Squad for Bangladesh Series

Shaheen Shah Afridi (Captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Moaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Rizwan (Wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jr., Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (Wicketkeeper), Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, and Shamyl Hussain.