Salman Butt: “Babar topped the ICC T20I rankings for three years and remains Pakistan’s highest run-getter in the format. On the global stage, he’s only behind Rohit Sharma, by a small margin. That kind of consistency deserves respect”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt sees batsman Babar Azam earning a recall in T20Is due to his ability to score runs regularly.
Azam used to be one of Pakistan’s first-choice openers in the shortest format, but was heavily criticised for his poor strike-rate.
While Salman acknowledged that strike-rates play a prominent role in international cricket today, he stressed that Azam’s “consistency deserves respect”.
“Babar topped the ICC T20I rankings for three years and remains Pakistan’s highest run-getter in the format. On the global stage, he’s only behind Rohit Sharma, by a small margin. That kind of consistency deserves respect,” he was quoted as saying by A Sports.
“Babar is still young. Yes, he’s not scoring the way we’re used to seeing, but that’s part of the game. Every top player faces such phases. What matters is how they respond – and I have no doubt Babar will bounce back.
“Strike-rates dominate every conversation these days, but we forget the importance of consistency and composure. In tough conditions, players like Babar – who anchor and absorb pressure – become invaluable.
“If Pakistan builds a dynamic, attacking unit without Babar and [Mohammad] Rizwan, that’s fantastic. But until that happens and you have proven alternatives, it’s risky to let go of players who’ve delivered consistently over the years.”
Azam recently captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and accumulated 288 runs in 10 games, which included three fifties, at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
After this, he was left out of Pakistan’s squad for their three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore.
The men in green then toured Bangladesh for three T20Is, but Azam failed to make the cut once again.
He also didn’t feature in the T20I series in Pakistan’s ongoing tour of the West Indies.
However, he was picked for the three-match ODI series, which is going on right now.
In the 1st ODI, the 30-year-old made 47 runs as Pakistan beat the West Indies by five wickets.
The 2nd ODI will take place on August 10 in Trinidad.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
Pakistan Squad for West Indies ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
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