Mohammad Yousuf has revealed how he was forced to step down as a Pakistan selector after suggesting Babar Azam be rested from T20Is. Babar has been in and out of Pakistan’s T20I squad for the past few years but has always found a place in the team when it comes to T20 World Cups. Despite this, Babar failed to inspire in the format as his strike rate and technique were deemed unsuitable for T20 cricket.
In the 2024 T20 World Cup Babar scored 122 runs in four matches at a strike rate of 101.66 as Pakistan were eliminated in the group stage. In the ongoing edition of the tournament, the Pakistan batsman has been batted at No. 4, a position he batted only once in 2017 before the tournament. Pakistan’s batting continued to struggle, scoring 66 runs from four matches at a strike rate of 115.78 and not even going out against Namibia.
Speaking on the How Does It Work Podcast, Yousuf said that Babar’s technique had gone awry. The Pakistan legend recalled how he was forced out of his role for suggesting a move to drop Babar from the team.
“I have been saying for 2-3 years that Babar’s technique is going to hell. I heard he is in form but he is not. A player can only be in form for two to three series and he has not scored in the last two to three years. The moment I suggested Babar to rest, all of a sudden they said they turned against me later. I had to step down a couple of times. I had to step down.
“CHURAN OF MINDSET IS FOR SALE”
Ahead of the T20 World Cup Babar tried to get back into form with a stint in the Big Bash Leagueand coped with further criticism. Yousuf said that when it comes to Babar, the mindset is sold on his role in T20Is and he doesn’t have the skills to excel in the format.
“The mind bug is very mis-sold. Until you have the skill, the mind can’t do anything. If you don’t have the skill, what will the mind do?. The level of Inza (Inzamam-ul-Haq) Bhai and Saeed (Anwar) Bhai cannot be compared. They cannot be compared to the categories of big players. Zahes players were very different. Babar is nothing before them,” said Yousuf.
Babar’s last T20I hundred came in 2023 and since then he has scored 1086 runs from 39 matches at an average of 32.9 and a strike rate of 127.46.
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Published on:
February 20, 2026