Babar Azam is the highest run scorer in T20Is. He has also scored close to 12,000 runs in T20 matches overall, but despite all that, he is one of the weakest links in Pakistan‘s squad picked for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Babar has failed to score runs on a consistent basis for more than two years now, and in addition to that, his strike rate in T20Is (128.29) has also invited a lot of criticism for him. In Pakistan’s T20 World Cup 2026 opener against the Netherlands in Colombo, Babar was only able to score 15 runs from 18 balls in the 148-run chase, and his slow knock, which almost cost Pakistan the match, invited a lot of embarrassment from him.
But despite Babar’s recent struggles, Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha has backed him ahead
of the crucial Group A match against India. According to Agha, he is not concerned about Babar’s form, and he expects the right-handed batter from Lahore to score good runs against India at R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.
“Babar did 50 in the last three innings, and the other day he scored 40-odd, and it was a very important knock for us,” Agha said when asked about Babar’s form during the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
“I don’t think that it (Babar’s form) is a concern for us. I think he is batting well, and he is scoring runs for us. And we are very happy with that. And we really hope that tomorrow (on Sunday), he’ll score good runs and we’ll win (against India), and he’ll make a major contribution,” he added.
Babar played as an opener for Pakistan in the 2021, 2022 and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup, but in the ongoing edition, he is batting at No. 4. According to Salman, Pakistan’s top four are settled in the batting order, and he doesn’t think there is a need for any change.
“I think our top-four are settled in the batting order. I don’t really think so; we need to change. According to the situation, if we have to change anything, we will do it,” he said when asked if he would change the batting order to give more chances to Babar higher at the top.
