'Babar Azam needs to score three match-winning hundreds otherwise...': Shoaib Akhtar's 'Champions Trophy' ultimatum

Babar Azam scored just 47 runs in three T20Is, and 80 runs in the ODI series against Australia last month

Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Akhtar gave an ultimatum to Babar Azam on his future in one-day internationals and T20 cricket amid changes in Pakistan's white-ball team management. Akhtar reckoned Babar will have to score three centuries, in a winning cause, during the upcoming Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan, to save his career.

Shoaib Akhtar has his say on Babar Azam's future in white-ball cricket

Adding to his poor run of form in the opening Test match against England in Multan in October, where he scored 30 and 5, Babar was dropped from the Pakistan playing XI. The hosts later beat England 2-1 in the series, recording their first home Test series win in three years.

Babar returned to action in the white-ball tour of Australia, where Pakistan played three T20Is and as many ODIs last month, but his struggle continued. He scored just 47 runs in three T20Is, and 80 runs in the ODI series.

Amid calls from veteran cricketers who want Babar to return to domestic cricket in a bid to find his form, Akhtar warned him that with Pakistan having a new white-ball coach in Aqib Javed, he will have to score big runs to prolong his international career.

“He is our star player and has my backing but with the new management and the new thinking, he will have to show performances. Otherwise, he will not be considered for ODIs and T20Is,” he said.

Akhtar reckoned that impending Champions Trophy tournament, which is only two months away, will be a make-or-break campaign for Babar.

“Babar needs to be at his best in the Champions Trophy. He will have to score three match-winning hundreds; otherwise, the path is going to be difficult for him," he added.

Should Babar take the Kohli route?

Babar was dropped from the Pakistan Test side after incurring a run-scoring rut with a Test average of 20.7 since 2023. During the run, he failed to score a single fifty, with his best being a knock of 41 against Australia in Melbourne in December 2023. His last fifty-plus score, a knock of 161, came against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, earlier last month, reckoned Babar could take the Virat Kohli route in a bid to find his form. The former India captain had taken a month-long break in 2022, before he returned to score his first international ton since 2019 and later emerged as the Player of the Tournament in the 2022 T20 World Cup.

“You know, when you look at (Babar’s) numbers, it's been a bit like the stuff that we were talking about with Virat [Kohli] earlier on,” Ponting had told ICC. “Sometimes – and I think Virat was on record saying this – that little bit of a break that he had, he took himself away from the game for a while to freshen up and sort out some things that he needed to sort out.

“This might be exactly what Babar needs. Maybe Babar needs to get away for a while and stop trying too hard. Lock the kit bag away for a while, and think about something else and then hopefully come back recharged, because we know at his best he's as good as anyone going around. Hopefully we get to see that in the back half of his career again.”