Basit Ali criticises Pakistan captain Babar Azam after Lord’s defeat

Former cricketer Basit Ali criticised Pakistan captain Babar Azam on September 1, 2026 after Pakistan's 194-run defeat in the second Test at Lord’s, a result that left England with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Babar had returned to the side for the second Test at Lord’s after recovering from a finger injury but managed scores of 8 and 6 in the match. The low returns intensified scrutiny of his prolonged Test-century drought; his last hundred came against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022 and he has now gone around four years without reaching three figures, despite remaining one of the country’s most high-profile batters.

Basit did not hold back while questioning whether Babar had delivered enough when Pakistan needed him most. "They didn’t become great players just like that. I’m not even talking about Sachin Tendulkar. I’m talking about my own countrymen. When you don’t do anything in difficult times, what’s the point? You’re a great player in your fan following. You’re a great player in front of social media," Basit said on YouTube show The Game Plan. "When will you do it? I’m talking about Babar [Azam]. I’ll take his name. He hasn’t scored a (Test) hundred in four years. When will you do it? It’s a matter of pain. When the entire country’s batting depends on you. At least don’t get out by hitting such a shot," he added.

Pakistan’s batting has been a central problem across the series, with the team failing to cross 200 in any of their innings so far. At Lord’s they were bowled out for 110 in the first innings and reached 194 while chasing a target of 389 in the second innings. Saud Shakeel’s 97 was the lone major act of resistance in that chase.

For Babar, the Lord’s Test represented a particularly frustrating outing: his aggregate of 14 runs from two innings marked his lowest match aggregate when batting twice since January 2025. Pakistan had hoped the captain’s return would bolster a fragile batting line-up, but his failure added to the pressure around the team.

Pakistan now face the prospect of a 3-0 whitewash when the final Test begins in Birmingham on September 9, while Babar will once again carry the weight of expectation as he looks to silence his growing list of critics.