Ahmed Shehzad: “His career has declined, he has not performed for Pakistan for a long time now. He was groomed to win matches for Pakistan in ICC events, but he has failed badly”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Veteran Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad believes batsman Babar Azam’s career has “declined” as he “has not performed for Pakistan for a long time”.
Azam has struggled with his consistency for quite some time, but showed some signs of progress during the 2025 Champions Trophy and the limited overs tour of New Zealand.
During the Champions Trophy, he struck 87 runs in two games, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
He followed it up with 129 runs in three ODIs against New Zealand, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
Despite taking steps in the right direction, Shehzad highlighted Azam’s inability to do well at ICC events in particular.
“His career has declined, he has not performed for Pakistan for a long time now. He was groomed to win matches for Pakistan in ICC events, but he has failed badly,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam had been captaining the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) prior to the tournament being postponed due to Pakistan’s ongoing border tensions with India.
In the eight games he played, he amassed 178 runs, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 29.66 and a strike-rate of 109.87.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 10:
- Platinum: Babar Azam (captain), Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore
- Diamond: Corbin Bosch, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris
- Gold: Abdul Samad, Hussain Talat, Nahid Rana
- Silver: Arif Yaqoob, Najibullah Zadran, Max Bryant, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufiyan Muqeem
- Emerging: Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat
- Supplementary: Ahmed Daniyal, Alzarri Joseph