Should Pakistan bring Babar Azam back into T20 setup?
After Pakistan’s Asia Cup 2025 final loss, discussions arise on recalling Babar Azam to stabilize the T20 top-order and strengthen the team’s batting lineup.
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After Pakistan's loss to India in the Asia Cup 2025 final, it rekindled conversations about Babar Azam's future in Pakistan's T20I plans. Once a cornerstone of the batting lineup, the previous exclusion of Azam from the T20 squad earlier this year caught many off-guard. National head coach Mike Hesson had stated that Azam would need to improve his strike rate and ability to rotate strike against spin in order to be called back on to the T20 journey with the team. However, given Pakistan's difficulties at the top of their batting order throughout the year, should Babar Azam be called back into Pakistan's T20I plans?
Looking at the trends from 2023's T20I tournament, there is clearly an issue with Pakistan's top-order performances. While several different players have batted in the top-three positions, the majority have struggled to provide stability. The strike rates have been unusually low, the slow start meant Pakistan were unable to secure the momentum necessary within the powerplay. In contrast to the current top-order batting unit, Babar Azam's experience and unique ability to 'anchor' innings may potentially provide the team with the consistency they presently lack. Below is a table of Pakistan's top-order batters batting in the T20I format in 2023:
Babar Azam in T20Is
| Player | Matches | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fakhar Zaman | 15 | 397 | 28.35 | 124.06 |
| Saim Ayub | 21 | 355 | 16.90 | 129.09 |
| Sahibzada Farhan | 18 | 509 | 28.27 | 131.52 |
| Mohammad Haris | 13 | 322 | 26.83 | 153.33 |
| Hasan Nawaz | 6 | 121 | 24.21 | 89.06 |
| Agha Salman | 4 | 116 | 38.66 | 138.09 |
| Omair Yousuf | 1 | 7 | 7.00 | 63.63 |
After the Asia Cup embarrassment, the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) recently announced several changes to its squad, including summoning Shadab Khan and reporting Shaheen Shah Afridi back to the Test squad. This is a clear signal of a shift in policy that will see the team's reliance on experience to stabilize a developing but inconsistent side. Introducing Babar Azam back into the T20 squad could have a dual impact - bolstering the batting line-up while providing some added leadership to help younger players when needed.
In summary, if Babar Azam returns, he would need to reconsider his previous issues with strike rate and innings management. However, Azam has shown himself to be a reliable contributor to an innings, particularly in pressure situations. Pakistan's batting is currently inconsistent, and there is a need for a balanced batting strategy at the top. Introducing Azam back to the T20 squad may provide Pakistan T20 with the batting stability and experience required for future international assignments.
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