Former Pakistan captain and coach Mohammad Yousuf has made a scathing attack on Babar Azam regarding the ongoing conflicts in the T20 World Cup 2026. After demanding the sacking of Babar Azam following Pakistan’s crushing defeat to India, Yousuf called Babar Azam a batsman with no skill.
The performance of Pakistan’s senior batsman in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 was forgettable. In the big match against India, he scored just 5 runs in 7 balls before being dismissed by Axar Patel. That early dismissal helped India gain control of the game and ultimately win in Colombo.
Mohammad Yousuf launches brutal attack on Babar Azam after T20 World Cup 2026 disaster
Babar could score only 66 runs in three group matches against Netherlands, America and India. For a player of his stature, these figures drew widespread criticism. No, it is being said that the former Pakistan captain may be dropped from the team’s do-or-die match against Namibia.
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Adding further fuel to the debate, Mohammad Yusuf made blunt remarks on Babar. The former Pakistan batting coach made it clear that mindset alone cannot save a player, adding that mental strength means nothing without proper skills.
Mohammad Yusuf said on a Pakistani podcast, “The powder of mentality is being sold in a very wrong way. Unless you have skills, the brain cannot do anything. If you do not have skills, what will the brain do?”
Yusuf places Yunus Khan and Zaheer Abbas in a different category from Babar.
When Yousuf was asked to compare Babar’s peak with the greats of his era, he insisted that legendary batsmen like Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Younis Khan and Zaheer Abbas were on a completely different level. He stressed that Babar can never be compared with these four greats.
The former Pakistan batsman further said, “The level of Inji Bhai and Saeed Bhai cannot be matched. They cannot be matched. They were very big players. Zaheer Abbas… these four players were of different categories and levels. He is nothing in front of them.”
Also read: ‘Fake King’: Babar Azam’s cousin stabs him in the back after Pakistan’s defeat to India
Mohammad Yousuf says 120 strike rate is outdated in modern T20 cricket
Yusuf also pointed out that in Babar’s early years, a strike rate of 120 to 125 was acceptable in T20, but now the game has changed. He said that modern T20 cricket demands a strike rate of 150 or more and stressed that players who cannot meet this new standard do not deserve a place in the team.
He further added, “But I would say that in the initial 2-3 years, as you can see in T20 also. At that time, the requirement of high strike rate was not so high. At that time, a strike rate of 120-25 was fine. But now the requirement has changed. If you play according to that, you will still play. If you are not meeting the requirement, you are not worthy of being there. Today we want a strike rate of 150-60. Are.”
Yusuf says it has nothing to do with mentality, he lacks skills (about Babar Azam) pic.twitter.com/YRJTeMcKsp
– Ghumman (@emclub77) 17 February 2026
Earlier, Yousuf had demanded the dropping of Babar, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi from the T20 squad after their poor performance against India. He had posted,
Time is up for Shaheen, Babar and Shadab, Pakistan’s T20 team needs new performers, not empty wins against weaker teams #T20WorldCup
– Mohammed Yousaf (@yousaf1788) 15 February 2026