Frustrated by his exclusion from Pakistan’s Twenty20 international side, Babar Azam has been handed a lifeline to revive his white-ball career, with the Sydney Sixers signing him for the 2025–26 Big Bash League in Australia.
Sydney Sixers teased the announcement with a video showing a jersey featuring commentary from Babar’s last T20I century in April 2023, accompanied by the cryptic text: “12.06.25 at 7pm – a big surprise.”
The Pakistan Cricket Board has already granted Babar a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to participate in the league from 14 December 2025 to 28 January 2026.
This marks Babar’s fifth stint in a foreign T20 league. He previously played for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (2017), Somerset in the Vitality Blast (2019 and 2020), Colombo Strikers in the Lanka Premier League (2023), and in the Bangladesh Premier League for two different teams (2017–18 and 2023–24).
Several other Pakistani players are also exploring Big Bash opportunities, including Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain and Usama Mir.
Sources told Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net) that Babar was disheartened by his omission from Pakistan’s last two T20I series. He reportedly sought clarity about his role from head coach Mike Hesson and selector Aaqib Javed, and attempted to speak with PCB chairman’s advisor Wahab Riaz during an Eid dinner, though the conversation did not materialise.
The selection committee and Hesson appear aligned in their vision to experiment with new talent in preparation for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Following their exclusion from the Bangladesh series earlier this month, Babar, along with Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi, were invited to a training session – a move seen as an olive branch.
Though Babar and Rizwan steered Pakistan to the semi-final and final of the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups respectively, the duo faced criticism for slow scoring and underwhelming strike rates in recent years.
Pakistan’s T20I performance has declined notably, slipping to eighth in the ICC rankings after a disappointing first-round exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup, which included a shock defeat to the USA.
