"Babar Azam Doesn't Have A Voice": Pakistan Star Questioned Over Role Change With Virat Kohli Example

Once considered Pakistan's biggest star across formats, the manner in which Babar Azam's career derailed left many surprised. The batter made a return to Pakistan's team for the T20 World Cup 2026 but was given a role in the middle order despite playing most of his career as an opener. Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali questioned Babar as well as Fakhar Zaman's decision to accept the change. Basit cited India icon Virat Kohli's example, suggesting that Babar and Fakhar should not have accepted this change, even if things were not going their way.

“Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman don't have a voice. How come they agreed to bat in the middle order?” said Basit on the Game Plan show.

“I just have one example. Virat Kohli was not made the captain, he said, ‘Okay, bye'. Virat Kohli. He retired; he should have been made the captain for the England series. He was told that he was not in their scheme of things as far as captaincy was concerned. He said, ‘Okay, tata, bye-bye.' He doesn't have a shortage of money. Babar should not have accepted the decision to bat at No. 4. If I were his close aide, I would have told him to refuse. You just threw him under the bus,” he added.

Offering his opinion on the topic, another former Pakistan cricketer, Kamran Akmal, disagreed with Basit, saying players cannot decide which position they will play. If they try to dictate that, they would be sidelined.

“No player dares to go against the team management. I have only seen Younis Khan being adamant about his position. As a player, you simply cannot say that. You will be thrown to the sidelines if you say such things,” said Akmal.

“When the form is not there, no player says such things. Before the Champions Trophy, his form was not there. He had left the captaincy. Big players even agree to such things. Form is very important. When form is not there, a batter would even agree to bat at No. 8,” he added.

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team Babar Azam Virat Kohli Basit Ali Kamran Akmal Cricket