KARACHI: Left-arm Pakistan fast bowler Ramman Raees has advised star batsman Babar Assam to call time on his T20 career to focus on the longer formats.
Raees, who represented Pakistan in nine ODIs and eight T20Is between 2016 and 2018, insisted that Babar’s recent struggles in T20s could affect his performance in the longer formats, suggesting the 31-year-old should stay away from the shorter version of the game.
“There is no doubt about his class, there is no doubt about his batting. But in the T20 format, I think he should respectfully consider retirement and focus on ODI and Test cricket,” Raees said in a podcast hosted by fellow national cricketer Fawad Alam.
“When a player’s performance drops in one format, it can affect other formats as well. T20 is very short and sharp, but the impact is reflected in other formats as well.
“If we talk about Test performance, there is a huge gap there as well. As a friendly suggestion, I think he should respectfully step away from T20 cricket and focus on the longer formats.”
Notably, despite being the world’s leading run-scorer in the shortest format, Babar has come under heavy scrutiny for his recent struggles in T20Is.
He fell out of favor in the short form for Pakistan after the three-match series against South Africa in December 2024, resulting in him missing out on a place in the green shirts squad for last year’s ACC Men’s Asia Cup as the former champions focused on developing youngsters for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
But Pakistan’s torrid campaign in the continental competition paved the way for a return to the national team for the domestic series against South Africa in October last year, and he was included in the 2009 Champions squad for the 20-team mega event.
However, concerns about Babbar’s T20I credentials were reinforced as he was underwhelming in the T20 World Cup, scoring just 91 runs at an average of 22.75 in six matches, with 46 being his highest score.
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