Babar Azam to play against Namibia?: Pakistan will be up against Namibia on Wednesday, in a potential knockout match. After their 61-run defeat against India last Sunday, their run rate has undergone significant changes as it has slipped into negative territory. Salman Ali Agha’s side will be looking for a comeback in the upcoming game.
Any upset mid-week could lead them out of the T20 World Cup group stages in the second consecutive edition. A huge pressure is there for the Pakistan side, and they have been preparing hard for the upcoming fixture. There have been questions over whether Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, and Shaheen Afridi fit into the playing XI after their poor performances.
Pakistan set to undergo big changes
However, in the turn of events, reports have been coming from Ejaz Wasim Bakhri that Sahibzada Farhan might be dropped from the side. The explosive opener has been their best batter in the competition so far and only failed against India after being out on a duck in the very first over. He scored back-to-back fifties in the game against the Netherlands and the USA.
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If Sahibzada Farhan is dropped, it means Fakhar Zaman might get a nod, and also Babar might also be promoted to open the innings rather than batting at no.4, where he has not been successful. Fakhar can also open the innings with Saim Ayub, with Babar’s batting position being the same.
Pakistan will go with three pacers against Namibia
They can also play Naseem Shah by sacrificing Fahim Ashraf, while Salman Mirza could get his second match of the competition, in place of Shadab Khan. As the latter has also not been at his very best in the competition so far. The Men in Green want to go all guns blazing with their pace attack with three front-line pacers.
The Pakistan head coach, Mike Hesson, who has not been impressed with Babar’s performance, wants to give the senior cricketers a chance against a weaker opponent so they can regain their form and score some runs and pick some wickets, before going into the next stage of the tournament.
Pakistan has not been at their best in the T20 World Cup 2026
They were in good form ahead of the tournament. However, since the start, they haven’t been at their best. In the very first game, they won from the jaws of defeat with Faheem Ashraf’s brilliance against the Netherlands. In the second game, they performed decently and won the game.
In the match against India, they were beaten in every department, and it looked like a different team was playing. The Men in Green spinners, except for Usman Tariq, were smashed by Ishan Kishan all over the park. It was a one-man show in Colombo, on a pitch that looked slow, and the ball was gripping. Kishan played a knock of 77 runs off 40 balls and took the game away from Pakistan.
While chasing Agha’s side was nowhere near the game, they lost their top order inside the first two overs. They were bowled out for the score of 114 runs with Usman Khan scoring 44 runs.
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