Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has spoken out against the PCB and the domestic structure in Pakistan for the technical glitches in Babar Azam‘s batting. He has cleared the individual of any fault and has pointed out what could have actually helped him rectify these mistakes.
Pakistan have already jeopardised their own campaign in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 with some awkward decisions from their head coach Mike Hesson and the rest of their management. They stuck with Babar Azam, despite the veteran’s constant failures in the format.
Moreover, Pakistan were too dependent on their spinners and often did not bowl their seamers to full strength, which cost them when their spinners were targeted by Harry Brook in the match against England.
Babar Azam gets some backing from the former Pakistan skipper
As Pakistan have struggled significantly with the bat, the blame has been largely put on one of the most experienced and one of the most veteran stars in that XI, Babar Azam. The batter has been out of touch in the T20 format for a long time now and has been criticised largely for his poor strike rate.
For his lack of touch, Babar was excluded from the Pakistan team for the Asia Cup, but was eventually brought back later in the preparatory series before the T20 World Cup. He also made his BBL debut to prepare for this World Cup, where he also failed miserably.
After not having played a single impactful inning in this World Cup, Babar Azam has been blasted by cricket analysts in Pakistan. However, he has been backed by former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousaf, who believes that the fault is not something to be rectified by an individual but rather by the system.
“These issues must be systematically addressed by specialists,” Mohammad Yousuf remarked on Babar’s recent struggles
Yousuf believes that all analysts and coaches who have been commenting on Azam’s technique are just looking to cover up for their own flaws. He said that the issue clearly is not with Babar’s technique but rather in the overall playing structure in Pakistan.
“Experts are now commenting on #BabarAzam’s technique, but their knowledge and understanding are completely flawed. They do this simply to avoid admitting their own failures as analysts and coaches, as they opposed me when I first raised the issue,” he wrote on his X post.
He then continued to back them, saying that such matters of technical and mental conditioning can only be resolved by the joint efforts between the individual cricketers and the other players who are specialists associated with such practices.
“They question why I did not act, yet they fail to recognize that matters of technical, fitness, and mental conditioning cannot be resolved by individuals. These issues must be systematically addressed by specialists through academies, integrated into corrective practice in domestic setups, and ultimately validated through the selectors’ consideration,” he added.
Experts are now commenting on #BabarAzam’s technique, but their knowledge and understanding are completely flawed. They do this simply to avoid admitting their own failures as analysts and coaches, as they opposed me when I first raised the issue. They question why I did not act,…
— Mohammad Yousaf (@yousaf1788) February 26, 2026
Will Babar Azam continue to play T20Is for Pakistan after the ICC T20 World Cup 2026?
This remains a massive question from Pakistan’s point of view: whether they can qualify for the next stage of the ICC T20 World Cup, and if they fail to make progress, then whether players like Babar Azam will continue to star for them in the future?
Going by the words of Cricket analysts in Pakistan, Babar Azam is unlikely to get backed as he has been overall these years. Moreover, skipper Salman Ali Agha’s captaincy retention would also be under scrutiny. Hence, Babar Azam’s retention remains the next big thing in Pakistan cricket.
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