Babar Azam labelled Pakistan's weakness by India great amid PCB-ICC stand-off

Babar Azam in action [Source: AFP]India legend Ravichandran Ashwin has given a stern verdict regarding the Pakistan cricket team for the upcoming 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. While Pakistan has decided to serve two crucial Group A points to India on a platter, Ashwin believes that the presence of senior batter Babar Azam in the middle order is a “weakness” for the Men in Green. The former Indian all-rounder reckons Pakistan have a “good shot” at the showpiece event, even though the Pakistan government has barred the national team from facing arch-rivals India, continuing its stand-off with the ICC. Ravi Ashwin explains why Babar Azam is a weakness for Pakistan Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin said that Babar Azam batting in the middle-order is a weakness for the Pakistan team. The cricketer likely attributed his claim to Babar Azam’s rather slow approach in T20 cricket. Compatible to Ravi Ashwin’s claims, Babar Azam recently underwent a BBL 2025-26 season to forget in Australia. In 11 innings of the tournament, the cricketer aggregated just 202 runs at a lowly strike rate of 103.06.The legendary Pakistan batter also maintained a strike rate of only 124.59 in their recently-concluded home T20I series against Australia. Additionally, the talismanic Indian all-rounder also criticised the death-overs bowling of Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi.Assessing the performance of fellow Pakistan players like Shadab Khan, Usman Tariq and Khawaja Nafay; Ashwin said, “Their weakness is Babar Azam coming in at the middle order, and the death bowling from Naseem Shah and Shaheen isn’t very sharp. Shadab’s batting and bowling form has dipped, while Usman Tariq brings a novelty factor with a 5.63 economy rate. Khawaja Nafay is striking at 174.”Ashwin places Pakistan as contenders for 2026 T20 World Cup Despite his criticism of Babar Azam and the likes of Shaheen Afridi and others, Ravichandran Ashwin also believes that Pakistan has a “good shot” this 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. He said that in-form opening batters Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub are currently Pakistan’s biggest strength, and hailed the spin excellence of Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz. Ashwin said, “Some people might not like this, but I’m going to talk about cricket. I feel that Pakistan has a really, really good shot in this World Cup. Their biggest strength is their opening pair. Babar Azam is not opening; it will be Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub. Saim Ayub has been impressive in the powerplay with the bat, and Shaheen Shah Afridi’s economy rate in the powerplay is excellent at 6.5. Abrar Ahmed and Nawaz are also strong — Nawaz with his control and Abrar with his novelty factor.” The former Indian cricketer further praised Pakistan captain and star all-rounder Salman Agha. He believes that Salman’s contributions for the team often go unnoticed. He added, “Pakistan has strengths and weaknesses, but they do have Salman Ali Agha, who often doesn’t get mentioned.” Pakistan to face Netherlands on February 7 The Pakistan team will now face Netherlands in their opening match of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup on February 7 in Colombo. The ‘Men in Green’ will subsequently face USA at the same venue on February 10. Pakistan’s high-profile match against arch-rivals India on February 15, however, has been boycotted by the Pakistan government on political grounds. The Salman Agha-led side will cap their Group stage of the tournament on February 18 with a match against Namibia.