Indian cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle has delivered a blunt assessment of Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi following Pakistan's 61-run defeat to India in the T20 World Cup 2026 in Colombo, saying both players have lost the edge that once made them indispensable.

 

"I've been an admirer over the years of Babar Azam. It doesn't matter which team you're playing for. When a great player looks ordinary, it makes you feel bad. And I'm afraid Babar Azam looked ordinary," Bhogle wrote in an Instagram post. 

 

The veteran commentator questioned whether Babar's struggles stem from a deeper identity crisis as a batter. 

 

"I just wonder whether he's caught in two minds, whether he should play the game that comes naturally to him, which is a beautiful, easy, flowing, classical game, or whether he needs to stay relevant in T20 cricket by playing shots that make him lose shape. And as a result of that, he played an ugly shot. Babar Azam and ugly don't go together," he wrote. 

 

Babar managed just five runs before Axar Patel bowled him while attempting a slog, with Pakistan already in deep trouble at 34 for 4, continuing a miserable run of form against India in T20 internationals.

 

Bhogle said he saw the decline coming. "In my preview to this game, I had said that if you had asked me some time ago who the two key players in the opposition would be, I would have said Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi. But I said I no longer feel that way. And today was vindication of that."

 

His assessment of Shaheen was equally damning. "Shaheen Shah Afridi looks a shadow of himself as a bowler." The left-arm pacer conceded 31 runs in just two overs as India posted 175 for 7 in their 20 overs.

 

Bhogle tied the two players' failures to a broader problem in the Pakistan setup. "Without these two great players contributing, there just seems to be a void in that Pakistan team. Add to that the decline of Shadab, as I've said, and there's far too many places to fill."

 

Pakistan, chasing 176, collapsed to 114 all out, losing by 61 runs in what became India's biggest ever victory over Pakistan in T20 World Cup history.