Babar Azam's batting position locked in [Source: AFP Photo]Pakistan took on Australia in the first T20I of the three-match series on Thursday, and as expected, the hosts prevailed in a rather one-sided battle. Pakistan's middle-order batters failed to deliver the goods, but their bowlers responded in style as the hosts took a 1-0 lead.While opener Saim Ayub and captain Salman Ali Agha performed valiantly with the bat, star batter, Babar Azam once again crumbled as he only managed to score 24 off 20 balls and had a strike rate of just 120.Salman Agha locks in Babar Azam's T20 WC batting positionIn a surprising move, captain Salman Agha demoted Babar to number 4, and he, himself, played at 3. The move was eventually justified as he blasted 39 off 27 balls and laid the foundation for a comprehensive win for Pakistan. After the game, the skipper clearly stated that from now onwards, he will bat at number 3 in order to take advantage of the spinners in the middle overs.While not mentioning Babar Azam’s name, the captain stated that Babar doesn’t have the game against the spinners, and hence, he will bat further down at 4. "Will be batting at 3. We are going to face a lot of spin in the powerplay. I feel I can dominate spin early on, that's why I batted at 3 and that's where I will bat," Salman Agha said at the post-game presser.Babar's batting demotion continues as form worsensFor someone who started out as an opener in T20Is, Babar’s downfall in the format needs to be studied. Before he was dropped for the Asia Cup 2025 tournament, Babar mainly batted as an opener, and while he scored truckloads of runs, his strike rate was questionable.After the tournament, he was recalled to the T20I team but was demoted to number 3 as Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan occupied the top spot. In the BBL 2025-26, the former captain played as an opener but failed to deliver the goods.As a result, he was once again demoted and was placed at number 4 against Australia, a position that has been locked for him in the World Cup. The problem for Babar is that the opening position is sorted, and Salman Agha has done well at number 3 in recent matches, and the only position that is left vacant for the right-handed batter is the number 4 spot, and it doesn't How has Babar fared at number 4 T20IsOut of the 130 innings he has played in T20Is, Babar has only played two matches at number 4 position.He was mainly deployed as an opener, and the former skipper has been average at the same batting spot. At 4, Babar has scored 67 runs, but the problem remains his strike rate (115.52).His spin game has regressed, and Babar could face the same issue at number 4 as middle-order batters in Asian conditions should be a great player of spin-bowling, and Babar lacks that ability in T20Is.
