Babar Azam reaches Dubai amid Asia Cup 2025? Azhar Mahmood reveals truth

LAHORE: Interim head coach of Pakistan men’s red-ball team Azhar Mahmood quashed the rumours of star batter Babar Azam travelling to Dubai during the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025.

Babar, who is second on the list of all-time leading run-scorers in T20Is, has been out of favour in the shortest format since the three-match away series against South Africa in December last year.

He ultimately failed to make it to the Pakistan squad for the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 as the former champions shift their focus to grooming youngsters ahead of next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, on the eve of the Green Shirts’ opening Super Four match against arch-rivals, social media was buzzing with reports of Babar travelling to Dubai to rejoin the Pakistan squad for the continental tournament.

However, the ‘breaking news’ has now been busted by interim red-ball head coach Mahmood, who shared a picture with the star batter at a golf course here.

“Breaking news: Babar spotted in Dubai… oh wait, that’s just him slicing another superb golf shot on a beautiful golf course here in Lahore,” wrote Mahmood on X, formerly Twitter, accompanied by laughing emoticons.

For the unversed, Pakistan booked their spot in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2025 with a 41-run victory over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Dubai as they finished second with four points and a net run rate of 1.790.

The Green Shirts kicked off their campaign with a commanding 93-run victory over Oman before suffering a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of fierce rivals India, who topped Group A unbeaten with six points with a net run rate of 3.547.