Babar Azam faces ‘criminal’ allegations amid T20 World Cup 2026

After another awful and slow-paced innings from Babar Azam, former Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim has ripped into the veteran Pakistani batter for his selfish pursuit, which has cost Pakistan big time over a long period.

Pakistan faced a massive blow to their campaign in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup after their crushing defeat against England. Many are to blame for the defeat, as several spinners failed to produce the wicket of Harry Brook when it mattered the most. However, the original blame seems to be on the batting unit.

Especially that one man has been blamed the most and rightfully so, since he is among the greatest in the team. Babar Azam has been an absolute disaster in this World Cup so far and is yet to make an impact in the games that actually mattered for his team.

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Babar Azam declared a 'criminal' by his former teammate

Babar Azam has been terribly out of touch, and he is once again back under the scanner after a slow innings against England. He was dismissed against India while playing a cross-batted shot to Axar Patel, and a repeat of the same happened against England, but this time against a paceman.

Babar came out to bat in the 4th over of the game, after skipper Salman Agha was dismissed by Liam Dawson within the powerplay. Azam had the opportunity to take his team home from there; however, he kept playing the balls, and after having made 25 off 23 balls, he was cleaned up on the 24th ball by Jamie Overton.

This action has been coined as a selfish pursuit by Imad Wasim, and he believes that Babar is currently a burden to the T20 unit due to his habit of playing run-a-ball innings and then getting dismissed just when it is time to accelerate.

"Shaheen is experienced, but Babar Azam is even more experienced than him. How many games would he mess up like this? If you get out after having faced 24 balls, then it is a criminal offence."

"It is not what is expected from such an experienced player, who, after having faced so many deliveries and having a good insight into the wicket, just gets out playing awful shots. We saw the same thing against India and now here as well," Imad Wasim pointed out.

"When will he win us a game of cricket, like Harry Brook did yesterday?" Imad Wasim turns savage against Babar Azam

Imad did not budge away from his scathing attack and questioned Babar's ability to win matches for Pakistan. He said that Sahibzada Farhan, who was playing at the other end, played a fine innings, but when will the hyped Babar Azam be able to produce something special for his country when it matters the most?

"What questions arise are, after having played 24 balls, what would be happening in their team meetings? Would he be admitting to having failed to make an impact despite having played 24 balls? Sahibzada was batting at the other end; he scored 65 runs; yes, arguably he is in good form and came in to open, but even Babar came out in the 4th over; he didn't come out in the 11th over or so," Wasim says, asking Babar Azam to take responsibility.

He continued, "When will he win us a game of cricket, like Harry Brook did yesterday for England? When will he play an impactful innings in the big games in World Cups, the knockout matches in the semi-finals, finals or other crucial matches?

"You can score against weaker opponents; that is obvious. It is obvious to score 18-20 runs off Harmeet (USA spinner), but today that should have come against Liam Dawson or Adil Rashid."

"We are now tired of supporting him," Imad's massive claim on the Pakistani veteran

He said Babar is manipulative to the people of Pakistan with campaigns favouring him. However, he continues to ridicule Babar Azam, seeking one innings that he has played and made an impact for his team on a big occasion.

"This is an attribute of our community to be moulded very easily. In whichever direction you propel them with campaigns regarding any player, even if it's me (Imad Wasim brings himself into the debate), they will start following that blindly," said Wasim.

"However, for a player, making an impact is what counts. I remember Babar having played that innings against New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup, which was one of the best One-day innings and then the innings where we (Pakistan) won against India by 10 wickets."

"Except for these two innings, show me one inning where he has made an impact. This has been our concern for a long time; they have tried him at no. 3 and no. 4, and handed him the opening slot as well. We are now tired of supporting him; the whole of Pakistan prays for Babar to get some runs," the former all-rounder concluded.

Imad Wasim is ripping apart #BabarAzam after his selfish knock of 25 runs in 24 balls.He is rightfully calling out his statpadding in T20 cricket.Babar Azam is playing with 100 SR in the last 3 #T20WorldCup..When will PCB realise that Babar is the problem pic.twitter.com/zBK5EfTkXh

— Cover Drive (@day6596) February 24, 2026

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