4 min readUpdated: Feb 8, 2026 10:30 AM IST
After a near-defeat experience for Pakistan cricket team in their T20 World Cup opener against the Netherlands where a game-winning cameo from Faheem Ashraf helped them chase down the target of 148 with three balls to spare and just three wickets in hand, the knives are out for star batter Babar Azam.
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has predicted that when Pakistan play their next group stage game against the USA in two days’ time, Babar may not make it into the XI. In the game against the Dutch team, Babar managed to score just 15 runs from 18 balls at a strike rate of 83.33 before Roelof van der Merwe dismissed him.
“I have a feeling that Babar will not play in Pakistan’s next game. The anger I saw on coach Mike Hesson’s face… I don’t think that he will play Babar at no 4 again in the next game,” Basit Ali said on the YouTube show The Game Plan, where he was joined by Kamran Akmal.
Basit Ali had some withering criticism for Babar, who, he pointed out, was not a suitable fit for the T20 format. There was also plenty of conversation about Babar playing in the No 4 role with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha moving up to no 3.
“If you call Babar Azam a superstar in ODIs or Tests, I might still agree. But in T20Is? Kahaan se superstar hai? (How is he a superstar?) A batter who drops down from his regular batting position and comes out to bat at no 4, and cannot even tell the management that he’s not a no 4 batter! Doesn’t Babar know this?” Basit Ali asked.
Even a club cricketer will tell you that in T20s, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf… they are all better players in the format than Babar! Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub are also better T20 players than Babar. Even Salman Ali Agha has shown that he’s a better player at No 3 than Babar. After what Steve Smith did with Babar Azam in the Big Bash League, people haven’t wisened up! He denied a single just to prevent Babar from getting on strike. His game is not suited (to T20s).”
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To this, Kamran said: “Zabardasti fit kar rahe hain at no 4. (The management is forcibly fitting him at No 4). Why do we keep playing games like these against teams like the Netherlands? Because you’re not making a system. You’re obliging players!”
To this, Basit Ali asked: “Has Babar Azam ever won us a game by batting when the required rate was 10 runs per over?”
When Kamran asked whose fault that was, Basit Ali responded: “Babar ka kasoor hai! (Babar is at fault)”
When conversation turned to alternatives that Pakistan could have for Babar in the XI, the host of the show pointed out that Khawaja Nafay, who was waiting in the wings, did not have too much experience.
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To this, Basit Ali responded: “The amount of time you have given to players like Babar and Mohd Rizwan, you won’t get others who have that kind of experience.”
