The national men’s selection committee member, Aaqib Javed, has claimed that players are picked based on the conditions of play, and so is Babar Azam, despite his poor strike rate in the T20 format. Mike Hesson has hinted that Azam will not open the innings for Pakistan.
Pakistan have finally revealed the squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 and have confirmed their participation in the upcoming event. The Men’s Selection Committee and the head coach, Mike Hesson, have made significant changes to the squad.
The change that looked significant was Haris Rauf being dropped from the squad for an ICC tournament for the first time since his debut. While Mohammad Wasim Jr. has also been dropped from the squad, Babar Azam, the veteran batter, has returned for the World Cup.
“Babar Azam is definitely our most consistent batsman,” claimed Aaqib Javed
While Babar Azam was the captain of the Pakistan team the last time they played in the T20 World Cup, he was snubbed from the shortest format of the game in recent times. Babar was also shockingly dropped from the Asia Cup squad by Mike Hesson.
Babar made his debut for the Sydney Sixers in this season of the BBL in the hope of reviving his T20 form in one of the oldest and most prestigious T20 tournaments in the world. However, he failed to be promising for the Sixers as well and scored 200+ runs in over 11 innings with a strike rate of almost 100.
Based on these, the selection of the player in Pakistan’s squad for the World Cup was questioned. The reporter questioned, “You talked about modern-day cricket, but Babar Azam’s recent style of play doesn’t seem to match modern-day cricket.”
“You have to judge a player according to the conditions. Sometimes, you pick players based on the situation. Babar is definitely our most consistent batsman,” claimed Aaqib Javed, the Director of High-Performance.
Q : You talked about modern cricket, but Babar Azam’s recent style of play doesn’t seem to match modern bday cricket.
Aqib Javed : You have to judge a player according to the conditions. Sometimes, you pick players based on the situation. Babar is definitely our most consistent… pic.twitter.com/375UnufurQ
— junaiz (@dhillow_) January 25, 2026
“Babar has a lot to offer in other areas” – Mike Hesson
Adapting to the conditions, Babar Azam will not be allowed to open the innings for the team, as claimed by the national head coach Mike Hesson. Hesson is known to make audacious changes to the lineup and has gotten results in the Asia Cup.
Mike Hesson accepted the fact that Babar might just not be the right player to utilise the conditions in the powerplay; however, with his experience as the world’s highest run-getter in T20I cricket, he can be handy in several other areas.
“We don’t see him opening because the ability to take advantage of the powerplay is very important. However, Babar has a lot to offer in other areas. Also, if we are chasing a low score, he has the ability to control the chase,” the Pakistan head coach stated.
📢 BABAR AZAM WON’T OPEN IN THE WORLD CUP
Head coach said: “We don’t see him opening because the ability to take advantage of the powerplay is very important. However, Babar has a lot to offer in other areas. Also, if we are chasing a low score, he has the ability to control the… pic.twitter.com/2tkflLvnUi
— junaiz (@dhillow_) January 25, 2026
Pakistan confirm ICC T20 World Cup participation with squad announcement
Several doubts have been recently raised over Pakistan’s possible participation in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026. PCB had backed the BCB in their recent fight with the ICC over the T20 World Cup venue change and had then claimed to boycott the competition if Bangladesh were forced to withdraw.
The PCB has, however, dismissed all such claims and confirmed their participation in the ICC tournament by announcing their squad for the upcoming tournament, well ahead of the stipulated date given by the ICC. Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka; even hosts India will travel to Colombo to feature in the group-stage game against the neighbouring rivals.
ALSO READ: Revealed: Who will replace Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2026 if they pull out?
