Malik, who played the last of his 124 Twenty20 Internationals against Bangladesh in November 2021, has impressed in Pakistan's domestic T20 league and with the Asia Cup and World Cup on the horizon, local media suggested his experience could prove invaluable.
However, there was no place for the former captain, a useful all-rounder, in the squad for this month's Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Babar said they were looking to the future with the World Cup coming up in October/November 2022.
"There are matches immediately after Netherlands, so it's unlikely there will be time for changes," Babar told reporters on Thursday, August 11th, ahead of their Dutch tour next week.
"When senior players leave the side, those replacing them need focus. (Mohammad) Hafeez (41) and Malik were huge players and we'll miss them a lot, and players like Asif Ali (30), Khushdil Shah (27) and Iftikhar (Ahmed) (31) need to fill their boots.
"We want to give them plenty of matches and confidence, and these players have performed."
Pakistan will play three one-day internationals in Rotterdam before arriving in the UAE where they begin their Asia Cup campaign with an August 28th blockbuster against arch-rivals India in Dubai.
