Pakistan has set Namibia a 200-run target in their last group stage match of the T20 World Cup 2026. Part of the reason why the Men in Green were able to set a big total against Namibia was that Babar Azam didn’t come out to bat at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.
Slotted at number four, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and head coach Mike Hesson didn’t send Babar out to bat. Originally, the 31-year-old was selected as a ‘fail-safe’ batter. He was expected to anchor the innings at number four and arrest collapses, which have caused Pakistan major issues in the past.
Babar Azam benched mid-match
But Babar had done the exact opposite against the Netherlands and India. After Pakistan got off to a great start against Namibia, which was a must-win match to qualify for the Super 8, Hesson and Agha decided that it was best to keep Babar on the bench and send other attacking batters ahead of him.
You see, Pakistan lost their 2nd wicket, of Agha, in the 13th over. Knowing it was the time to whack, rather than consolidate, Babar wasn’t sent at number 4. Instead, Khawaja Nafay was promoted. Even when he couldn’t make an impact, 5 (5), Babar wasn’t sent. Instead, Shadab Khan joined Sahibzada Farhan in the middle.
The duo batted out the entire overs, scoring 81 (40) together, with Sahibzada becoming just the second Pakistani batter, after Ahmed Shehzad in 2014, to register a hundred in the T20 World Cup. Considering Shadab managed to score 36 (22), including 2 sixes in the last over of the first innings, it’s safe to say that Agha and Hesson proved themselves right by demoting Babar.
Pakistan has already dropped Shaheen Shah Afridi and has now opted not to send Babar in. One won’t be shocked if Babar is benched at some stage during the Super 8.
