The aftermath of Pakistan’s heavy loss to India in the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 group stage clash in Colombo has sparked a debate about the form and role of Pakistan’s talismanic batter, Babar Azam. Expressing his frustration, former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin lashed out at Babar for not standing up for the team when he was needed the most. Pakistan’s chase of India’s competitive total of 175 was derailed early.
Babar, expected to anchor the innings under pressure, managed only 5 runs off 7 balls before being taken out by India’s Axar Patel, who tempted him into playing a slog across the line that missed and crashed into the stumps. Babar’s shorthanded performances earlier in the tournament, particularly a slow innings in Pakistan’s win over the Netherlands, had also attracted a lot of criticism.
"As an international cricketer, if you see any shortcoming, you need to work on it. He has not made a single change to his game. Look at the USA game in 2024. He similarly opened up his shoulder and pushed a delivery that was caught in the slips. Today also, he played in the same manner towards the third man, and if he keeps playing this way, he will be dismissed in similar fashion every time. They were saying in the commentary it is a typical Babar Azam. "I think Pakistan have got tactically better, but they lack raw material," Ashwin said on the YouTube channel.
For Pakistan, it was only Usman Khan who offered brief resistance with an incredible 44, but his know remained in vain as Pakistan had already lost the game with the cheap dismissal of openers Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan.