Pakistan star batter Babar Azam opts out of National T20 Championship

Dropped from the Pakistan T20 squad for the series in New Zealand, former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has decided to skip the National T20 Championship.

Babar, Muhammad Rizwan and fast bowler Naseem Shah were all dropped for the five-match T20 series starting March 16 in Christchurch, but have been retained for the three ODIs against New Zealand.

While announcing the team, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had indicated that Babar, Rizwan, Naseem, who are all centrally contracted players, would be taking part in the National T20 in Faisalabad starting this week. 

But on Thursday it was confirmed that Babar and Naseem had withdrawn from the National T20 event citing workload management and upcoming international commitments.

A reliable source in the PCB said that with the Pakistan Super League due to begin in mid April it was obvious that they were prioritising the franchise event.

"Given the inconsistent policies of the national selectors these players are aware they will be back in the national T20 side if they just turn in a few good performances in the PSL which will also lead to them being hyped up on social media," the source said.

Babar has not played a domestic first-class match since 2020.