Hype Fades As Sahibzada Farhan Struggles To Fill In Babar Azam's Shoes In T20Is

How Sahibzada Farhan failed [Source: AFP Photo]

Before the Asia Cup 2025, Pakistan selectors made a bold decision by dropping their star player, Babar Azam, from the team. Babar was once the undisputed starter in the Pakistan squad, but after a string of low scores and poor strike rate, he was removed from the team for the marquee Asian event.

For a long period of time, Pakistan saw Sahibzada Farhan as his replacement in T20Is, and the batter was fast-tracked in the squad and was given the opening role. With no Babar in T20Is, Sahibzada was tasked with the opening role, and it is fair to say that he has failed to live up to the hype created around him.

Hype fades as Sahibzada Farhan fails to replace Babar

(Sahibzada Farhan in last three T20Is)

• As shown in the table, Sahibzada Farhan has failed to live up to the hype created by the Pakistan fans. In the ongoing Asia Cup, he has struck at 94.5, while against the West Indies, he had a strike rate of 126.39. In the UAE tri-series, he struck at 150, but the opening batter only scored 63 runs in five innings.
• Neither have the runs come from his bat, nor has the strike rate looked threatening. A prime example of this was the knock against India.

In the Asia Cup match vs India, Farhan opened the batting and piled the pressure on other batters as he failed to up the ante. The batter did manage to score 40 runs, but it came at a cost of 44 deliveries, with a strike rate of 90.91. This raised the question, was Babar Azam that bad?.

Babar Azam vs Sahibzada Farhan T20I career

(Babar, Farhan in T20s)

In T20Is, Sahibzada Farhan, who was brought in for an attacking mindset, has a strike rate of 128, while Babar, who plays slow, has a higher strike rate of nearly 130, showcasing that the opening batter has failed to replace Babar in T20I side.

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