He last played a T20I in December 2024.
The Pakistan team management had decided to move away from their senior batting duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in T20 cricket earlier this year. Under the head coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Agha, they turned a new leaf.
However, nine months into their new era, Pakistan’s young side is starting to get exposed. They made it to the final of the Asia Cup 2025 but lost all three clashes against India, including the final. They fell short by a narrow margin in what was a high intensity clash. Now the questions arise if they should bring Babar Azam back into the fold.
The biggest criticism of Babar Azam and Rizwan in their stint at the top of the order was their scoring rate. Both seniors scored runs at a rate of less than 130. In modern T20 cricket, when batters are trying to break the game open in the powerplay, this strike rate is just not good enough. So the change seemed inevitable.
Pakistan put their trust in fresher and younger talent in their set-up. The likes of Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, and Sahibzada Farhan came with lots of promise. But the overall numbers this year show a different picture.
Seven players have batted in the top three for Pakistan in T20Is this year. Only one of those has an average of 30. As for the scoring rate, Farhan, Ayub, and Fakhar Zaman have struck at less than 130, which highlights the same issue Pakistan have had before this year.
| Player | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sahibzada Farhan | 18 | 509 | 74 | 28.27 | 131.52 | 0 | 5 |
| Fakhar Zaman | 15 | 397 | 77* | 28.35 | 124.06 | 0 | 2 |
| Saim Ayub | 21 | 355 | 69 | 16.90 | 129.09 | 0 | 3 |
| Mohammad Haris | 13 | 322 | 107* | 26.83 | 153.33 | 1 | 1 |
| Hasan Nawaz | 6 | 121 | 105* | 24.21 | 89.06 | 1 | 0 |
| Agha Salman | 4 | 116 | 51* | 38.66 | 138.09 | 0 | 1 |
| Omair Yousuf | 1 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 63.63 | 0 | 0 |
These numbers need to be adjusted slightly as Pakistan played three games in Bangladesh, where the pitches were low-scoring. But the larger point remains.
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When Pakistan kept Babar out of the Asia Cup squad, coach Hesson explained how he could get back into the side. He revealed the 31-year-old batter has been asked to work on his strike rate.
“There’s no doubt Babar’s been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate. Those are things he’s working really hard on. A player like Babar has an opportunity to play in the BBL and show he’s improving in those areas in T20s. He’s too good a player not to consider,” said Hesson.
Ahead of the tournament, the head coach iterated that the players in the squad are currently doing a great job. But the numbers don’t quite match the statement. In six games in the ongoing competition, Pakistan have scored on average 43 runs in the powerplay while losing two wickets on four instances.
Faces have changed, but the issues have remained the same. Most of the current options have failed to score at a good rate or show consistency. A few have not been able to do either. So should they revert back to Babar?
The logical answer to this would be no. The current crop is younger and has much more potential in the shorter format. Farhan and Hassan Nawaz have both shown that they are capable of delivering impactful performances. And for that, Pakistan would be wise to continue to back them.
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