Basit Ali: “If you call Babar Azam a superstar in ODIs or Tests, I might still agree. But in T20Is? Kahaan se superstar hai? (How is he a superstar?)”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali cannot understand how anyone would classify batsman Babar Azam as a T20I superstar.
Azam’s spot in the T20I team has been under intense scrutiny for a long time as his critics feel he is not suited for the format due to his inability to score runs quickly.
Basit acknowledged that the 31-year-old may warrant superstar status in Tests and ODIs, but believes it is difficult to apply the same label in T20Is.
“If you call Babar Azam a superstar in ODIs or Tests, I might still agree. But in T20Is? Kahaan se superstar hai? (How is he a superstar?),” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Azam recently captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and played an instrumental role in leading them to the title as he was the highest run-scorer with 588 runs in 11 matches, which included two centuries and three fifties, at an average of 73.50 and a strike-rate of 145.90.
After that, he played in one Test against Bangladesh and struck 115 runs, which included a top score of 68, at an average of 57.50.
The Lahore-born batsman carried his good form into the three-match ODI series against Australia, where he racked up 125 runs, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 41.66.
Having been reappointed as Pakistan’s Test captain, Azam will now lead the men in green in their two-Test series against the West Indies, which will take place in Trinidad and Tobago from July 25 to August 6.
Pakistan will then tour England for three Tests from August 19 to September 13.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
Pakistan Squad for England Test series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah