‘Babar Azam should have decided T20 is not his format’: Shoaib Akhtar's brutal reality check
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar is the latest former cricketer to sound alarm bells for the batter, saying Babar should have taken a call on his T20I career and decided that this format is not for him.In the T20 World Cup 2026, Babar has scored 66 runs in five matches so far, at an average of 22 and a strike rate of 115.78. The former Pakistan captain has been slow off the blocks in almost all games, putting pressure on the other end. And to make matters worse, he played two horrendous shots against the Netherlands and India, throwing his wicket away, giving the opposition the upper hand.“First of all, Babar should have decided that this format is not my format. Secondly, if you wanted Babar to play, you should have ensured he played in the first six overs. It's very simple. There is no rocket science to that,” Akhtar said on ‘Game On Hai.Babar at No.4?In the T20 World Cup 2026, Babar has been batting at No.4 for Pakistan; however, he was demoted in the batting order against Namibia and didn't bat. Ahead of the Super 8s match against New Zealand, Pakistan coach Mike Hesson said that Babar has been batting at No.4 because of his low strike rate in the powerplay.However, former Pakistan captain Hafeez disagreed with the statement, saying Babar does not have the game for the No.4 slot, and he should play either as an opener or a No.3 batter.“Our coach, Mike Hesson, gave a statement on Babar Azam, but I was not able to understand it. He said Babar is neither a batter who can make the most of the powerplay nor one who can strike it big after the 10-over mark. I tried my best to make sense of it, I heard it 15 times, but to no avail. If this is the case, then why is Babar playing?” said Hafeez on the same show as Akhtar.Pakistan's Super 8s match against New Zealand got washed out due to rain in Colombo on Saturday. Both teams got 1 point each after a single ball was not bowled at the R Premadasa Stadium.
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