Babar Azam and Naseem Shah have also withdrawn from the National T20 Cup, Pakistan's domestic tournament, and won't feature in the tournament this season

The Champions Trophy has come to an end, and now T20 fever has struck. While Indian cricket fans wait for the next Indian Premier League (IPL), Pakistani cricketers are also gearing up for the next National T20 Cup prior to the Pakistan Super League. The T20 Cup starts on March 14 and will see some of the Men in Green's veteran and young players.

The competition is made up of 20 sides that have been grouped into four groups. Pakistani ace batsman Babar Azam and Naseem Shah, a right-hander, were tipped to have some top players on the team. Well, as it turns out, the two players will be absent for the tournament because they are busy internationally. This was also an opportunity for them to stake their claims in the shortest game, given they were excluded from the T20I side ahead of the New Zealand series.

The two have been pulled out of the competition because of the hectic schedule, as Pakistan will be facing the Kiwis in ODIs and will also be playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) next month.

Babar made scores of runs for Pakistan in T20Is during last year, but his strike rate was always a cause of concern, and this was said to be the reason why the star player was omitted from the team.

Like Babar and Naseem, Mohammad Rizwan was also dropped from the T20I squad, with the captaincy handed over to Agha Salman. There were rumors that he would also play in the National T20 Cup, but his name is also omitted from the list, as the trio missed a great opportunity to score some runs.

Interestingly, the trio was included in the ODI squad for the series against the Kiwis, giving them a chance to assert their authority in white-ball cricket.