Babar Azam news: The Pakistani star creates a new strike-rate record in a tournament that refuses to go his way
Babar Azam news: Pakistan faced England at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy during the Super Eights stage of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. The match produced yet another difficult chapter for one of cricket’s most scrutinised batters. Babar Azam news from that contest made grim reading for Pakistani supporters, as their former captain contributed just 25 runs off 24 balls before Jamie Overton sent his stumps cartwheeling.
The knock carried consequences that stretched well beyond a single innings. With that scratchy contribution, Babar cemented an unwanted statistical distinction. He now has the lowest strike-rate in T20 World Cup history among batters who have accumulated 500 or more runs in the competition. Babar Azam’s tournament strike-rate stands at 111.5. That places him below Mohammad Hafeez’s 111.8, Kumar Sangakkara’s 112.2, Kane Williamson’s 112.5, and Mohammad Rizwan’s 113.0, leaving him alone at the foot of that particular table.
This figure feels especially stark given that T20 cricket prizes aggression above almost everything else. The numbers tell a story that critics have repeated for several years. Across 135 T20 international innings, Babar has carried a career strike-rate of 128.18. It is a figure that has already drawn scrutiny in the shortest format.
However, his World Cup strike-rate drops further still to 111.5, suggesting the biggest stages bring out his most conservative instincts. Furthermore, the team management’s decision to demote him from opener to the middle order, batting at number four or five in this edition, signals that they share those concerns. Babar Azam news surrounding his position in the batting lineup has consequently become as prominent a talking point as his actual run-scoring.
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For all the statistical noise, however, Babar Azam news from the tournament reflects a batter in genuine difficulty. In six matches, he has batted just four times, scoring 91 runs at an average of 22.75. These are modest figures for a player who once ranked among the finest batters across all formats, and a stark reminder of how quickly reputation and reality can drift apart.
