Like all great stories, this is about a child who was destined to rule. It began in Lahore in late 1994, October 15 to be precise. A precocious boy was born to a cricket-mad middle-class household. They named him Babar, likely after another great king, Zaheeruddin Muhammad Babur, who conquered these lands some five centuries ago.

And Babar seemed to be living up to his name. A meteoric rise through various cricketing grades saw Babar, who made his debut in 2015, reach the apex of world cricket. By 2020, cricketing pundits expanded the ‘fab four’ — comprising Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson — to ‘fab five’, making room for Babar.

However, a decade after his debut, Babar’s performance and confidence seem to be in freefall, as he sits, yet again, on the cusp of being ousted from the team.

The signs were already there. While one of the most elegant strikers of the ball, with his straight-batted drives leaving purists in quiet ecstasy, his strike rate was always a concern in the age of hi-octane limited-overs cricket. Then came a period of two and a half years in which he failed to score a century.

His drives still send purists into rapture. But his strike rate sends selectors into despair. At 31 years of age, Babar Azam is a cricketer at the crossroads…

His drives still send purists into rapture. But his strike rate sends selectors into despair. At 31 years of age, Babar Azam is a cricketer at the crossroads…

While he had his detractors, Babar still enjoyed a cult-like following among large sections of Pakistan cricket fans; he also had the unequivocal support of the cricketing set-up. The century arrived, finally, during the bilateral one-day international (ODI) series against Sri Lanka in November 2025.

There were hopes that the ‘bad patch’ was now a thing of the past, as Babar arrived in Australia in December 2025 — a marquee signing for the Sydney Sixers franchise in the Big Bash League (BBL). The pacey and bouncy pitches Down Under were perfect for Babar’s style of batting, many thought, and would be the ideal preparation for the T20 World Cup........

© Dawn (Magazines)