Babar Azam or Salman Agha: Analysis reveals which PAK player should be dropped from T20Is

Players Pakistan must drop [Source: AFP, @Cricbuzz/x.com]

Pakistan defeated Zimbabwe by 5 wickets in the opening contest of the tri-nation series on Tuesday, but the Men in Green had plenty of problems in their batting order. At one stage, Pakistan lost 4 wickets for 54 runs and were in danger of losing the game before the middle-order rescued them with explosive batting.

Their batting order looked bizarre as Babar came in at 3, Salman Ali Agha at 4, and the surprise came in with Fakhar Zaman coming into bat at number 5. So, two designated openers, Babar and Fakhar were pushed down the order as Pakistan continued to persist with Sahibzada Farhan at the top.

Pakistan's Babar, Salman Agha problem

While Fakhar did well in the middle order, Babar failed to deliver the goods and was dismissed for a duck. Captain Salman Ali Agha, too, failed in the game and departed for just 1. The T20I game vs Zimbabwe gave a hidden message - both Babar and Salman Ali Agha cannot play together, and someone needs to be dropped.

Before the Asia Cup, Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson wanted his batters to be aggressive and play a positive brand of cricket. However, multiple tournaments/series have passed, and yet, there has been no change in their approach, and these are the stats of their top 5 batters in 2025.

(Pakistan batters T20I stats in 2025)

• The data suggests that none of the big names from the Pakistan team have done well in T20Is in 2025. They have struggled for runs throughout the series, and the best strike-rate amongst all the batters is 130 by Saim Ayub, and even that is not impressive.
• Interestingly, Babar has the lowest strike rate amongst all the batters mentioned (112), and it showcases his vulnerability in the format. Salman Ali Agha, the Pakistan captain, isn’t far behind as the righty batter has struck at 113.72.
• Pakistan have backed Saim Ayub, and will not drop him as they consider him valuable. The same goes for Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan, as the management has backed them despite failures. That leaves Babar and Salman Ali Agha.
• On paper, Salman Ali Agha shouldn’t be anywhere close to the T20I setup with his numbers. He hardly plays an aggressive brand of cricket, and the player is decent as a captain.

Babar or Salman Agha, who should be dropped?

• Babar was given a second chance to redeem himself in the T20Is, but in four matches so far, things look ugly as the batter has only struck at 112, and these numbers have come in at home, where Pakistan prepare flat wickets.
• His strike rate has been a major issue, as even after repeatedly being told to work on it, the star batter has failed to deliver the goods.
• On the other hand, Salman Ali Agha isn’t far off from Babar, but for some reason, the team management has shown trust in him, and apart from the Asia Cup finale loss, the Men in Green has done well under his leadership.

Final verdict

Purely on a numbers basis, Salman Ali Agha shouldn’t be in the T20I setup as his game suits Tests and ODIs. However, the Pakistan team has shown faith in him, and have continued to back him despite repetitive failures.

Babar, on the other hand, doesn’t have that luxury, and he has already been dropped once for his strike rate issue and for the betterment of Pakistan T20I cricket, he should be the one to be removed, since both Babar and Salman Agha cannot be your number 3, and 4.

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