There were calls to drop Babar Azam from the Sydney Sixers line-up for the Challenger clash in the Big Bash League. Meanwhile, Pakistan have recalled Babar to join the national camp ahead of the T20I series against Australia.
Babar Azam will not be available for the Sydney Sixers in the Challenger clash in the Big Bash League (BBL) against Hobart Hurricanes. He has been recalled to join Pakistan’s national camp ahead of the T20I series against Australia and subsequently the World Cup. There were calls to drop him from the team for the must-win encounter with a place in the final at stake, but the former Pakistan skipper will now be unavailable in any case.
He was involved in the controversy recently when Steve Smith denied a single during the match against the Sydney Thunder. Babar was fuming at the time, with even the Sixers captain, Moises Henriques, admitting later that it took a couple of days to settle the matter with him.
Having said that, it wasn’t a great stint for Babar Azam in the BBL as he could only muster 202 runs in 11 innings at an average of 22.44 and a strike rate of 103.06 with two fifties to his credit. In five out of 11 innings, Babar was dismissed for a single-digit scores.
“Thank you, Babar.ย Babar Azam has been recalled to join Pakistanโs national camp ahead of the upcoming international fixtures.ย He will be unavailable for the remainder of the BBL|15 Finals Series,” Sydney Sixers wrote on X.
Pakistan to play against Australia next in T20Is
Pakistan are scheduled to play against Australia in three T20Is ahead of the World Cup and Babar Azam will join the national camp ahead of the series that will commence on January 29. This also more or less confirms that the former Pakistan skipper is set to be picked in the T20 World Cup squad for the men in green. His current T20 form is not great at the moment but Pakistan would be hoping that he finds his groove vs Australia when the series starts next week.
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