Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan face battle on several fronts during NZ ODI series

Star players hope to re-establish themselves as the country's premier batters

Pakistan's captain Babar Azam (R) and Mohammad Rizwan run between the wickets during the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between India and Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 14, 2023. (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- - -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE --Show less

White-ball cricket has two formats at the international stage, but for most teams, one easily merges into the other. Ideally, all three formats of the game deserve separate squads since the skill requirements for each are different, with only a handful of players truly capable of jumping from one to the other.

In reality, most teams have a limited pool of top-tier players and they play all important games, provided they are fit. So when Pakistan omitted Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam from the T20 squad for the recently concluded series in New Zealand, it was a significant move.

These two are the best batsmen produced by Pakistan over the past decade and a permanent fixture in all international assignments, even against teams ranked below them. But after successive failures by the Asian giants at major events, including early exits from the 2023 ODI World Cup, 2024 T20 World Cup and the recent Champions Trophy, something had to give.

Babar and captain Rizwan were excluded from the T20 clash in New Zealand, but retained for the upcoming ODIs against the same side. Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi and right-arm quick Haris Rauf, the other star names under fire for dwindling returns, were part of the T20 squad but dropped for the ODIs.

A message had been sent that the management is willing to give young talent a chance if seniors continue to under perform.

However, a 4-1 T20 series defeat laid bare the unfortunate reality of Pakistan cricket - there are not that many young players ready to push senior players out of their spots. Given time, many of them might begin to deliver at the highest level but at the moment, Pakistan seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

That brings the focus back on Babar and Rizwan. The two have lost some portion of the fan base, mainly because they became the face of Pakistan's successive failures. When you are one of the few star names in the team, everything comes back to you.

The three-match ODI series that begins on Saturday comes at a crucial juncture for Babar and Rizwan. Firstly, they need to raise their performance significantly to show their supporters and management that any deficiencies that might have crept into their batting have been addressed - mainly strike rate.

What a good series here will also do is show that the two are still, by some distance, Pakistan's most reliable white-ball cricketers. Even if they might still not be world beaters.

It would then be up to the team management to decide whether to move on to the next generation of players regardless of current form and impending assignments, or back the two stars to up their game and help the team become a serious threat on the international stage again.

The next major assignments are the Asia Cup later in the year and the T20 World Cup in 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. Given the young team's emphatic T20 series defeat down under, there is every chance that the two batting stars could find a way back in the mix once the major tournaments roll around.

But that is no longer a foregone conclusion, and Pakistan have started to adjust to life without their stars. All Babar and Rizwan can do is show there is enough cricket left in them, across formats, and that at least one of them can be a part of all teams.

If they need any inspiration, they only need to look at Shreyas Iyer who was pushed out of the Indian team's core group despite a stupendous 2023 ODI World Cup. He even lost his central contract following a breakdown in communication with the cricket board, at a point when he was being seen as a potential captain.

Iyer went back to domestic cricket, doubled down on his game, worked on his weakness against the short ball and returned as India's best white-ball batsman, helping win the Champions Trophy. His golden form has seeped into the captaincy of his new IPL team Punjab as well, where he missed a century by three runs in his first game in charge.

So it can be done. Granted, Pakistan could still decide to look beyond the established names, even if the results get out of hand. But at least Babar and Rizwan would have tried their best.