The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced two strong teams for the T20I and ODI series against the West Indies. Although star batter Babar Azam was included in the ODI squad, he was excluded from the T20I team. The move was on everybody's mind, and many cricket enthusiasts and experts have been left stunned by the choice. Why Did Pakistan Overlook Babar Azam for T20Is? The PCB kept Agha Salman as the skipper of the T20I team, while Mohammad Rizwan was appointed ODI series skipper. Pakistan also brought back left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi in the T20I team. But the biggest talking point was Babar Azam's absence, as he is one of the world's best and most experienced T20I batsmen. Babar's omission is when Pakistan is trying to establish a strong top order. He was widely anticipated to join the batting squad to consolidate the ranks, particularly following Pakistan's recent poor show. The side was embarrassed by a series loss to Bangladesh, whose trio of Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, and Hasan Khan disappointed with non-consistent scores. Everybody believed Babar's return was imminent, but the selectors chose to hold on to the younger players, preferring to provide them with one more opportunity before the 2026 T20 World Cup. From a neutral point of view, however, the call has some sense. Babar has not played his best in T20Is of late. His career figures are good, 4,223 runs at 39.84, but his form of late in big tournaments has not been great. In the two T20 World Cups in the last two years, he made a total of just 246 runs at 24.6 with a strike rate of 97.23. Also Read | Watch: Jadeja Fumes at Fielders After Joe Root Survives Run-Out Babar Azam's last 10 T20Is scores Runs Balls Against Venue Date 31 20 South Africa Centurion 13 Dec 2024 0 4 South Africa Durban 10 Dec 2024 41 28 Australia Hobart 18 Nov 2024 3 3 Australia Sydney 16 Nov 2024 3 2 Australia Brisbane 14 Nov 2024 32* 34 Ireland Lauderhill 16 Jun 2024 33 33 Canada New York 11 Jun 2024 13 10 India New York 9 Jun 2024 44 43 U.S.A. Dallas 6 Jun 2024 36 22 England The Oval 30 May 2024 In the wake of Pakistan's early exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup, the PCB started reconstituting its T20I team with an eye on a more attacking strategy at the top of the order. For the time being, Babar's comeback to T20Is appears remote unless the young players perform below par in the series against West Indies.