Babar Azam left out as Pakistan ring changes for crucial PAK vs SL T20 World Cup Super 8 match. The Internet is divided over bold team decision.
Babar Azam Dropped In High-Stakes PAK vs SL Super 8 T20 World Cup 2026 Clash, Fans React | IMAGE SOURCE - X/SCREENSHOT
PAK vs SL Super 8: Pakistan and Sri Lanka are facing off in a crucial Super 8 game of the T20 World Cup. While Sri Lanka is already out of the tournament, Pakistan still has a slim chance of making it to the semifinals. That made this match a virtual knockout for them
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first, putting Pakistan in to bat. And that is when the big surprise became official. Babar Azam, the former captain and Pakistan’s leading run scorer in T20Is, was not in the XI.
Pakistan made three big changes for their must-win T20 World Cup Super Eight clash against Sri Lanka in Kandy on Saturday, and the biggest talking point was the absence of Babar Azam. As reported by NDTV before the toss, the star batter was left out of the playing XI along with opener Saim Ayub and pacer Salman Mirza. In their place, Pakistan brought in Khawaja Nafay, Abrar Ahmed, and Naseem Shah.
The decision to leave out Babar Azam raised plenty of eyebrows. However, the thinking behind it seems clear. Pakistan cannot afford to slow down at any point with the bat. Since they are batting first, they need to put up a massive total, somewhere close to 200 runs. Not only do they have to win, but they need a big margin, around 65 runs, to keep their semifinal hopes alive.
The team management appears to have gone for a more aggressive approach, even if that meant leaving out one of their biggest names.
Saim Ayub was another surprising omission. Although he had been decent with the ball, his struggles with the bat at the top of the order made it difficult for him to hold on to his spot.
To strengthen their bowling, Pakistan added Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed. In the batting department, Khawaja Nafay was included as they look to go hard from the start and aim for a big score.
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka made it clear that his team wanted to bowl first, even though they had lost their previous two games while chasing. He also spoke about playing for the fans who continue to support the team no matter what.
"It is a good pitch and later on there might be dew as well. We got some good players in our lineup and of course, we need to do our basics right. So yeah, we didn’t do the basics well enough to pull out a win in the last two games. But here, we know we need to make it right in all three departments. They (the fans) still always love us regardless of whether we win or lose, so it’s good motivation, I think. Thank you very much for all the fans here. So yeah, we are looking forward to the game," Shanaka said.
On the other side, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha admitted that the qualification equation is definitely on their minds.
"We just need to play a perfect game, bowl well, bat well, and field well, and I think everything will be fine. Yeah, we would have bowled first definitely, but there is no way we can do that while batting.
"So you just need to put up a good total and try to restrict them. It’s a mix, (knowing the calculations) to be very honest. Sometimes it can be tough and sometimes it’s easy. You have the freedom to go and just play shots or you know what you need to do. But yeah, it’s a mixed kind of a thing. We’ll just try to play a perfect game and I think the rest will be fine," he said.
Social media was buzzing after Babar was left out. While some fans called it a bold and brave decision, others felt dropping such an experienced player was a mistake.
With so much at stake, all eyes are now on whether Pakistan’s gamble pays off.
Check out the reactions of fans:
The game against England was likely the last T20i of Babar Azam's Career.
— ABD 💭 (@abdullahk_56) February 28, 2026
He stands with the most T20i runs in the world and haven taken his team to a World Cup final.
Unfortunately, only a small percentage of his runs benefited Pakistan's future.#T20WorldCup2026
Not playing Babar Azam will cost you this crucial match..Pakistan will gonna regret this
— lil Dove 🍁 (@iAyushiRajput) February 28, 2026
Will PAK loose, even after babar azam dropped #T20WorldCup2026 pic.twitter.com/oTTJ7sVjsA
— The Fake Equations (@thefakeequation) February 28, 2026
All banters aside, Pakistan ruined Babar Azam as a cricketer. He was their poster boy, and they made him look pathetic.
— Soms (@orewakenn) February 28, 2026
Not saying Babar wasn't at fault at all.
Big blunder by management dropping babar azam ye tou dekh lete ke pehle batting bhi karni pad sakti hai ye zehan me socha ke 13 over main chase karna🙏🥲 i hope our batting collapse don’t happen. @_FaridKhan
— Aamish Zahid (@AamishZahi14661) February 28, 2026
At least, by dropout Babar Azam , Pakistan have shown some intention. Only positive
— Sajid Ullah Khan (@Sajid_Roghan) February 28, 2026
Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Khawaja Nafay, Usman Khan(w), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara(w), Charith Asalanka, Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka(c), Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka
