Babar Azam's Cousin Umar Akmal Trolls Him In Style Amid T20 World Cup Struggles

Pakistan batter Babar Azam's poor run of form continued in the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 match on Tuesday in Pallekele. After opting to bat first, Pakistan were restricted to 164/9 in 20 overs, with Babar managing only 25 off 24 balls. The total proved insufficient, and Pakistan slipped to a two-wicket defeat, allowing England to book their place in the semifinals. Babar's lacklustre knock once again drew widespread criticism, with many questioning the former captain's inability to play a responsible innings when his team needed it most.

Amid the backlash, former Pakistan cricketer Umar Akmal also took a dig at Babar by comparing his performance to one of his own memorable knocks. Umar, who has represented Pakistan in 16 Tests, 121 ODIs, and 84 T20Is, is also Babar's cousin. 

Taking to Instagram, he reshared a highlight of his match-winning innings from Pakistan's 2014 T20 World Cup match against Australia. In that game, Pakistan were reeling at 25/2 when Umar walked in and smashed 94 off 54 balls, lifting his team to 191/5. Pakistan went on to beat Australia by 16 runs, with Umar earning the Player of the Match award.

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Babar also faced heavy criticism from other former Pakistan players, including Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, and Ahmed Shehzad.

"How many games are you going to mess up like this? After facing 24 balls, if you get out in that fashion... it's criminal," Imad said. "You're such a senior player. We saw this against India too. We don't have a personal agenda, but I'm curious what happens in team meetings. Does he raise his hand and accept responsibility?"

During the same discussion, Amir and Shehzad also questioned the senior core of the team, though they stopped short of naming Babar directly.

"For the last two years, we've been talking about how these four or five core players have been given enough chances, yet still haven't delivered," said Amir.

Shehzad added, "Big players always accept their mistakes. For three years, even at the peak of his fitness, he hasn't performed. The cricket board provided everything it possibly could - all for one man - yet nothing has changed."

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team England Cricket Team Babar Azam Umar Akmal T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket