Not only was the 34-year-old dropped, the PCB also left him out of the central contracts list of the 25 men's cricketers for the 2024-25 international season, effective from 1 July 2024. In the press conference held to announce the new white-ball captain of Pakistan on Sunday evening, a reporter asked PCB chairman if Fakhar Zaman was dropped because of his X post (tweet) in support of Babar Azam after he was dropped from dropped from the Pakistan Test squad during the England series Naqvi immediately nodded in agreement and said there was definitely an issue with his tweet. He added that Fakhar Zaman's fitness was also in question before again expressing reservations against his tweet in favour of Babar Azam. "There is an issue regarding his tweet, but it is not as important as his fitness Test. There is one showcase notice pending on him. This is why we have not named him in the central contracts list," Mohsin Naqvi said in the press-conference. "It cannot happen like that if selection committee is not playing one player, then the other players start tweeting to express their displeasure. Players are not allowed to function like this, and we will never allow that. The main issue with him is his fitness Test, that he was not able to clear," he added. What had Fakhar Zaman tweeted? Zaman had said that dropping Babar Azam could create panic in the team, adding that Virat Kohli was not dropped when he was going through a lean patch. "It's concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam. India didn't bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively," he had tweeted. "If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan has ever produced, it could send a deeply negative message across the team. There is still time to avoid pressing the panic button; we should focus on safeguarding our key players rather than undermining them," he had added. Babar Azam called back in Pakistan squad, Rizwan named captain Babar Azam was named in the Pakistan ODI and T20I squad for the tour of Australia. He has been rested for the Zimbabwe white-ball series which follows after the tour of Australia. Further, Mohammad Rizwan has been named the new white-ball captain of Pakistan, and Salman Agha has been named his deputy. Pakistan's tour of Australia will kick off With the first ODI in Melbourne on November 4.