Babar Azam is Pakistan’s real enemy at the 2026 T20 World Cup – and Salman Ali Agha knows it

The Pakistan National Cricket Team and captain Salman Ali Agha are faced with an important question, and that is: Does Babar Azam still fit into modern T20 cricket ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup? Pakistan will start its campaign against the Netherlands on February 7.

Well, Babar Azam’s selection for the 2026 T20 World Cup has shocked many. In fact, the former Pakistan captain was left out of the 2025 Asia Cup squad due to his struggles against spin and poor scoring rate, and was recalled for the prestigious tournament.

Interestingly, those issues have not gone away, which is why his return for the 2026 T20 World Cup has sparked intense debate. Even within the team, Salman and the team management are unsure how Babar fits into Pakistan’s aggressive plans.

Salman Agha demotes Babar Azam to number 4

That concern is now visible in a bold decision by Captain Salman Ali Agha. For the 2026 T20 World Cup, Salman has locked himself in at number 3, pushing Babar to number 4. This change was first tested during Pakistan’s recent T20I home series against Australia.

Also read: Babar Azam slams Virat Kohli after Pakistan boycotts T20 World Cup match in India

The idea behind this rearrangement is simple. Salman is seen as a stronger player against spin and better able to score quickly in the middle overs, especially in subcontinental conditions where slow bowling dominates the early stages. That is why he has moved up the order to take control in the middle overs and even during the powerplay if necessary.

Babar has been nominated at number 4 to play the role of stabilizer in case early wickets fall and to handle fast bowling later in the innings. And he will continue to bat at this position throughout the mega event. This move also confirms that Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan will open for Pakistan. The move made it clear that Pakistan no longer sees Babar as the main attacking batsman at the top.

Pakistan is suffering from Babar Azam’s low strike rate

The biggest concern remains Babar’s low scoring percentage. This issue has followed him everywhere and is now Pakistan’s biggest headache ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup. In the 2025-2026 Big Bash League, Babar struggled, scoring runs at a low strike rate of almost 103 and an average of just over 22. The problems continued in the recent T20I series against Australia.

The right-handed hitter scored just 24 runs in the first game and just two runs in the second. However, in the last match, Babar showed his class with an unbeaten half-century off 36 balls, hitting 138 balls. That innings helped Pakistan register a huge 111-run victory and complete a clean 3-0 sweep over Australia.

Also read: BCCI responds to 2026 T20 World Cup controversy as PCB looks at ‘Force Majeure’ escape route

Babar Azam will be the worst batsman in the 2026 T20 World Cup?

Azam is still Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in T20I cricket with 4,505 runs, but his strike rate of 128.38 continues to raise questions. The situation looks even worse in the T20 World Cups where his strike rate drops to around 112, which is way below what is expected in the modern T20 game.