Babar Azam's poor run of form is a major cause of concern for the Pakistan white-ball team as they prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup in India next year.
While Pakistan has tried using five different openers in 2025, the T20 World Cup 2024 captain has played none of the 14 T20Is, casting high doubts over his presence in the 2026 World Cup.
The right-handed batter has neither shown any signs of improvement in ODI form, with only 334 runs in 11 innings played in 2025 — his recent scores against West Indies read 47(64), 0(3) and 9(23).
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As the former Pakistan captain struggles for form ahead of the T20 World Cup, TSN takes a look at his numbers over the years and explores if he can make the cut for the competition.
Will Babar Azam play the T20 World Cup 2026?
The 30-year-old batter was once considered among the greats of the generation and was touted to be the next big thing after the famous Fab-4.
However, his numbers have constantly dipped in the last 24-36 months, seeing him out of the T20I side.
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Below is the breakdown of Babar's T20I numbers over the years:
| Year | Innings | Runs | Avg/SR | Highest | 50/100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 116 | 116.00/128.89 | 55* | 1/0 |
| 2017 | 10 | 352 | 39.11/119.73 | 86 | 1/0 |
| 2018 | 12 | 563 | 62.56/126.52 | 97* | 6/0 |
| 2019 | 10 | 374 | 41.56/137.00 | 90 | 4/0 |
| 2020 | 6 | 276 | 55.20/144.50 | 82 | 4/0 |
| 2021 | 26 | 939 | 37.56/127.58 | 122 | 9/1 |
| 2022 | 26 | 735 | 31.96/123.32 | 110* | 5/1 |
| 2023 | 4 | 130 | 43.33/146.07 | 101* | 0/1 |
| 2024 | 23 | 738 | 33.55/133.21 | 75 | 6/0 |
Verdict- It is highly unlikely that Babar Azam makes the cut for the T20 World Cup in India, considering the number of exciting options that Pakistan currently has.
Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan are the best-suited players for the opening slots as of August 13, with 3 other players ahead of Babar in the pecking order.