Pakistan Cricket Board chairperson Mohsin Naqvi has also claimed that he has little role to play in the choice of cricketers for the national setup. Two of Pakistan's most seasoned cricketers, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, were left out of Pakistan's 17-member squad for the Asia Cup 2025. Naqvi explained that the decision regarding players to be selected for Pakistan is made after consultations between the advisory body and the selection panel. “First of all, I don’t have even 1% role in putting players into the team or taking them out. We have a selection committee and then an advisory body; they all sit together. The process goes through a lot — discussions that last 8-10 hours, sometimes for 2-3 days. Definitely, if a team is being selected, it’s in good hands; all professionals are there," Naqvi was quoted as saying by News18. Also Read | Duleep Trophy 2025: Schedule, Squads, Venues, Streaming Details Naqvi further explained that the long-term plan of PCB was to develop as many new talents as possible so that they could get enough exposure. I’ve only told them one thing — whatever decision they take, it should be on merit, and I will support that. With whatever lot was available, I polished it and carried it forward. Now, our effort is to bring in as many new players as possible so that there is more competition in cricket and the best of the best can come forward," he added. Babar and Rizwan had their last appearance for Pakistan in T20Is in December. They did not feature in any of the Men in Green's recent four T20I series: New Zealand (away), Bangladesh (home), Bangladesh (away) and West Indies (away). Even with the writing on the wall, it was rumored that the two veteran cricketers would be recalled by the team for the Asia Cup. Pakistan are grouped in Group A with India, Oman and United Arab Emirates for the upcoming eight-team competition. They will begin their campaign on September 12 against Oman at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium before facing arch-nemesis India at the same ground on September 14.