Babar Azam’s big statement: Amid form struggle, reiterated his commitment to play in all formats, said on PSL return…

By Sandy Verma On May 12, 2026

New Delhi: Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has weighed in on whether he will continue playing in all formats and has reiterated his desire to continue playing in all three formats. He said that the player’s job is to play, not to decide which format to leave.

Babar has been a key player for Pakistan across formats for most of his career, but the 31-year-old has found it difficult to score runs consistently in recent times, and the right-hander was unable to make much of an impact during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earlier this year.

But Babar, who won the Pakistan Super League (PSL) title as captain with Peshawar Zalmi, has a new lease of life, scoring two centuries in 11 matches and becoming the highest run-scorer in the tournament by scoring a record 588 runs in 11 matches.

Babar said in the post-match press conference after winning the PSL 2026 title, “My focus is on all three formats. It is not the player’s decision (which format to leave); the player’s job is to play. In my opinion, every player should play every format of cricket. You should not just focus on white ball or T20s. Red-ball cricket gives you a lot of experience. It teaches you how to build innings. And gives you patience.”

He further added, “When you play four-day cricket or any domestic circuit, you get the experience of scoring ‘long’ runs. You should play all three formats because each one helps the other. The red ball helps you in T20s and ODIs. When you play Test matches, the patience and mindset you develop—the art of playing long innings—gives you a huge advantage in white-ball cricket.”

Babar may get an immediate opportunity to continue his excellent form when Pakistan face Bangladesh away from home in a two-match Test series starting on Friday. Babar last scored a century in Test cricket in December 2022. His recent record against white-ball ahead of the PSL is also not very good, his only half-century this calendar year came against Australia at T20I level in early February and just ahead of the T20 World Cup.

“I didn’t live up to my own expectations, but it’s normal for a batsman to struggle with his execution. You have to take a few steps back and see where you’re going wrong and fix it. At times like these, you need support, and my family and close friends motivated me.

“I talked and worked on areas of improvement with my close coaches. Life is like a rollercoaster, and things never stay the same. You learn from your good and bad experiences. That’s how life works,” he added.