Sohaib Maqsood: “Babar has all those natural ingredients to be successful at 3”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan big-hitter Sohaib Maqsood feels Babar Azam should bat at number three in T20Is as he has all the “natural ingredients” to succeed in that position.
Azam has been one of Pakistan’s most consistent run-scorers in the shortest format over the years, but lately, his form has been on a downward spiral.
During the 2025 Champions Trophy, he amassed 87 runs in two games, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
He was then involved in Pakistan’s white-ball tour of New Zealand, but missed the five-match T20I series as he wasn’t included in the squad.
However, Azam did play the three-match ODI series and finished with 129 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
“Babar has all those natural ingredients to be successful at 3,” Maqsood said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Most recently, Azam had been captaining the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and scored 178 runs in eight matches, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 29.66 and a strike-rate of 109.87.
PSL 10 was then postponed due to Pakistan’s ongoing border tensions with India, but is expected to restart on May 17 and conclude on May 25.
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