Babar Azam and his issues with strike-rate has been a point of concern for a considerable period of time. But a batter of his stature, failing to complete an easy chase and take his side over the finishing line, will be a major red flag for Pakistan in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026.
Pakistan played their opener at the ICC event against Netherlands, which turned out to be a nervy affair for the Men in Green despite chasing a relatively subpar target of 148. Coming in at No.4 when the scoreboard read 53/2 in 4.5 overs and the required run-rate being marginally higher than run-a-ball, Babar had adequate time to build his innings and propel Pakistan to a win.
However, the right-hander could only manage 15 runs off 18 balls with a solitary boundary, derailing the run-chase with his slow batting. The run-rate climbed up and Pakistan were eventually saved by a missed catch of Faheem Ashraf in the end, winning the contest by a narrow margin with just three balls remaining.
Babar Azam did not play any T20I for Pakistan after the tour of South Africa in December 2024. He was dropped from the shortest format owing to his strike rate concerns and was absent from the Pakistan squad in the Asia Cup 2025. Nevertheless, Pakistan’s struggles at the continental tournament brought Babar back once again into the fold with few months left for the T20 World Cup 2026.
In fact, in a way, Babar Azam was lucky to retain his spot in the side for the World Cup after a subpar BBL 2025-26, where scored 202 runs for the Sydney Sixers in 11 innings at a strike rate of just 103.06 and an average of 22.44
Pakistan needed someone to to hold one end, absorb pressure, guide the chase calmly and hence depended on Babar but his recent displays has been extremely disappointing.
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One option for Pakistan is to promote Babar to No.3, where he has better stats compared to the No.4 slot. His strike rate at No.3 is 125.6 while averaging 42.9, which goes down at No.4 to 114.5 and 33.5 respectively. However, by doing that, they would have to demote skipper Salman Ali Agha, which wouldn’t be the best decision.
Salman is a better hitter that Babar Azam, essential to capitalise on the powerplay overs with a strike rate of 167 at the No.3 slot.
The other call is to drop Babar Azam, as difficult as it may sound. But Pakistan also don’t have much batting option in the squad with Fakhar Zaman and Khawaja Nafay being the only other names. Zaman is a top-order batter so Pakistan can bring Nafay in the middle. Although he made his debut only this year, the youngster has shown intent, something that Babar has lacked of late.
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