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 in India and Sri Lanka in February 2026.

But familiar failings re-emerged as Babar struggled to score quick runs. The nadir arrived during the match against Sydney Thunder, when his partner, Steve Smith of the ‘fab four’, refused a single off the last ball of an over. Smith wanted to take advantage of the surge — an innovation that allows batting sides to take a two-over “floating” powerplay after the 10th over. Babar was visibly furious.

While Smith would strike four consecutive sixes to justify his decision, it was validated further as Babar got out soon after. His dismissal and the infamous, disgruntled boundary ‘tap’ with the bat stirred more controversy. With a strike rate of 103.06, Babar was among the slowest batters at this year’s BBL.

The episode provided further ammunition for his detractors. Ex-cricketers mocked his style; fans on social media renamed him “Sydney Singles.” Babar returned home before the BBL final — to join a ‘national team camp’ — for many, a convenient escape from humiliation.

A few months earlier, Pakistan’s head coach, Kiwi Mike Hesson, had also called for more flexibility from his players, which many interpreted as a dig at Babar. Despite that, he still found himself on the team and headed to Sri Lanka to play his fourth T20I World Cup.

Before Babar ruled scorecards, he fetched balls.

In 2007, during an ODI against South Africa, J.P. Duminy hit a flat six into the stands. Twelve-year-old Babar, stationed behind the boundary rope, caught it with composure. By 2008, he was piling on runs in youth tournaments and under-19 tournaments. His calm temperament and wristy elegance resulted in inevitable comparisons with contemporary stars and whispers grew that Pakistan had found its own Kohli.

For quite a while, it seemed the case. Batting alongside the flamboyant Ahmed Shehzad accentuated Babar’s monk-like composure. His drives were textbook, as was the pose that he held after one of his signature shots.

Babar had a harder time breaking into Pakistan’s Test side, primarily due to the presence of Younis Khan and Misbahul Haq, Pakistan’s batting mainstay in that era. But three consecutive ODI centuries against West Indies at home in 2016 earned him debuts in T20Is and Tests.

He quickly adapted to every format: second-fastest to 2,000 ODI runs, second-fastest to 1,000 T20I runs. He overcame early Test failures with resilience. By 2022, he had become the only batsman to twice score three ODI tons in a row. He also ascended to the top of limited-overs rankings, becoming the top T20I batter in 2018. He was already referred to as ‘King Babar.’

And then, the throne started wobbling.

Babar was handed Pakistan’s T20 captaincy in 2019 following Pakistan’s early exit in the ODI World Cup, and became the country’s all-format captain within a year. While Babar’s batting average improved, the team results didn’t follow suit.

At critical junctures, the team appeared bereft of ideas, with Babar seemingly unable to rally his troops. There were concerns over team selection and accusations of cronyism. Still, for the adoring fans, Babar was “king”.

But the problems were already visible. On-field, Babar often looked isolated: minimal consultation and a lot of expressionless staring. Off it, it wasn’t all rosy either. Press conferences sounded like motivational spiels. Before international events, the confidence levels suggested that the trophy had already been bubble-wrapped for Lahore.

In the midst of it all, Babar also spearheaded Pakistan’s first-ever win against India in the World Cup, during a T20I match in October 2021 in Dubai. But there remained a problem of consistency in big tournaments.

While he struggled to make an impact with the bat, the team also struggled. This included shocking defeats against cricketing minnows Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and USA under his captaincy.

But he was also raking it on the commercial front. Babar was ubiquitous on the television screen and in Instagram reels — gifting gloves, donating shirts, smiling at cameras and more. Analysts began calling him Pakistan’s best-selling cricket brand. And they weren’t entirely wrong. In a market short on global superstars, Babar became the billboard.

During this time, his ODI average hovered around 56. It was also the number on his shirt at that time. Confidence or branding? You decide.

There were also comparisons with Viv Richards — the big man from Antigua who is considered the most destructive batsman in cricket history — which might be the cricketing equivalent of comparing a Tesla to a horse carriage — because both move forward.

And then came the cruel nicknames: “ZimBabar” seems to have more currency in recent times than “King Babar.”

The criticisms reached a point where even his father had to jump in. When family members become social media defenders, you know the scoreboard isn’t doing enough defending on its own.

In the T20 World Cup 2026, in which Pakistan failed to make it to the semi-finals, Babar scored a total of 91 runs in four outings, at an average of 22.75 and a miserly strike rate of 112. Of these, 46 runs were scored in the match against minnows USA. He was dropped for the last match against Sri Lanka.

Babar often sounds like he has memorised confidence instead of building it. Copying tone is not the same as building aura. In India, fame is managed like a project. In Pakistan, it often manages you.

He is only 31 years old. It is an age where great batters either evolve or quietly fade out. Babar’s place in the Test team is uncertain and his future in T20I fragile; 50-over cricket remains his last fortress.

But for that he will have to focus on runs over reels, cricket over commercials and performance over promo shots.

The story of Babar Azam is no longer about destiny; it is about adaptation. Modern cricket is ruthless. Elegance alone does not survive — it must accelerate. Aura does not defend a strike rate. Legacy is not built on endorsements but on reinvention.

At 31, Babar does not need a coronation. He needs evolution. Because in today’s game, kings are not overthrown — they are simply outpaced.

The writer is a sports enthusiast who also writes on old films, music and loves reading books. X: @suhaybalavi

Published in Dawn, EOS, March 8th, 2026

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