Pakistan selector Aaqib Javed recently gave a big update regarding the absence of Babar Azam in the limited overs squad. The Pakistan Cricket Board’s Director of High Performance confirmed that the former captain suffered the injury during the T20 World Cup 2026, where the team failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
The management has dropped Babar from the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh. Head coaches Mike Hesson and Shaheen Shah Afridi said that they want to provide opportunities to new players. The Men in Green suffered a humiliating defeat in the opening match before making a comeback in the second game.
Injury does not allow Babar Azam to play at the moment – Aaqib Javed
Speaking at a press conference along with Misbah-ul-Haq, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq, Aaqib Javed talked about Babar Azam’s injury concerns. He then clarified the exact medical reason behind Babar’s exclusion from both the international series and the T20 tournament.
Javed said that the 31-year-old player wanted to participate in the domestic tournament. However, medical professionals advised him not to play competitive cricket until he fully recovered from the injury.
“Some players have not been included in this series, especially Babar Azam. When he returned, he was examined by our doctors and his injury does not allow him to play in this series or the T20 tournament at the moment. Although he wanted to play, he is still injured.”
Babar Azam faces a tough T20 World Cup 2026 campaign
Babar Azam had a poor campaign during the recent T20 World Cup. He managed to score only 91 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 112.34. His best score of 46 came during the opening group-stage match against the United States national team.
He had scored only five runs against India but was dismissed by Axar Patel. The team management then dropped him down the batting order against Namibia, where he did not get a chance to bat. The team was eliminated during the Super Eight stage.
Notably, the management left him out of the final Super Eight match against Sri Lanka. The national team failed to reach the knockouts of the tournament. Following his exclusion, experts questioned his status in the T20I setup before the selectors announced the squad for the Bangladesh series.
Babar Azam struggling to achieve consistency from 2024
Azam has been struggling to regain his consistency since 2024. Despite scoring over 4,500 runs in international T20 matches, his strike rate is 128.02. Overall in T20 cricket, he has scored more than 11,000 runs including 11 centuries and 98 half-centuries with a strike rate of 128.31.
Despite struggling with poor form last year, he did not play two first-class matches in the premier red-ball tournament. He missed important opportunities to find his batting rhythm away from the pressure of international cricket matches.
The batsman will be seen in action during the upcoming Pakistan Super League 2026 season. He will open the batting for the Peshawar Zalmi franchise during the tournament. He will be hoping to regain his form and return to the T20 team.
Also Read: BCCI Naman Awards 2026 Full Winners List: Shubman Gill, Smriti Mandhana, Rahul Dravid Honored
