T20 World Cup 2026: Selection committee requests inquiry over injuries of Babar, Fakhar

LAHORE: Pakistan men's selection committee has requested the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for an inquiry into the alleged injuries of senior batter Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, its member Aaqib Javed revealed on Saturday.

2009 champions Pakistan, who failed to qualify for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals, are currently engaged in a three-match away ODI series against Pakistan, for which they rested six key players, including the senior batting duo of Babar and Fakhar.

Their exclusion despite encouraging performances in the longer format drew severe criticism for the selection committee, which was alleged by fans of "format mixing".

Meanwhile, as per the latest development, the selection committee has revealed that the duo was not considered for the Green Shirts' ongoing international assignment due to concerns regarding their fitness.

Javed, while addressing a press conference here at the Gaddafi Stadium, alongside fellow selectors Sarfaraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq, claimed that Babar and Fakhar were injured during the T20 World Cup 2026, and also that the selection committee was unaware of their fitness concerns.

He further shared that the selection committee has thus requested the PCB for an inquiry.

"Some players were not included in this series [against Bangladesh]. Concerning Babar Azam's injury, when he came back from there (the T20 World Cup), our doctor also examined him. The injury he has is not allowing him to play this series, or the National T20 Cup... he wanted to play that but he is injured," Javed stated.

"Fakhar is also injured – on this, we have also requested the cricket board for an inquiry. How can it be that Fakhar is also unfit, that only after the World Cup is over, these two players' injuries have come to us? During the World Cup, when they were playing, was their fitness not being taken care of? Were they in the squad without being fully fit? We are selectors; we should know these things," he added.

Javed then addressed the ongoing concerns regarding the national men's team's selection for the ongoing Bangladesh series, for which their squad features six uncapped players, emphasising that the selection committee had decided before the T20 World Cup 2026 that it would send youngsters to Bangladesh.

"But we had already decided beforehand that we would send younger players like Maaz Sadaqat, etc for this series after the T20 World Cup," Javed shared.

"We had already decided before the World Cup that we would not send a full-strength squad here. We have done this since the Zimbabwe series [in 2024]. Play new players, so you have more options."