Former Pakistan cricketer Umar Akmal has cleared up his side after controversy happened over his post on X comparing his scores with Babar Azam's knocks in Pakistan’s performances inthe  T20 World Cups.

Akmal shared a collage illustrating Pakistan's two different innings and how many runs he scored in those matches. The first included his personal performance against Australia in the 2014 T20 World Cup, in which he hit 94 off 54 balls to help Pakistan rebound from 25-2 to 191-5 and win by 16 runs.

The second image depicted Babar Azam's innings against England in the 2026 T20 World Cup, in which he scored 25 off 24 balls while Pakistan only managed 164, allowing England to win in the final over.

Akmal emphasized that he never intended to compare himself with Babar Azam or disrespect him. He added that the post was meant to suggest that Babar’s batting style is not suited for the middle-order and not to malign the image of the ex-Pakistan captain.

"I want to clarify that my aim was never to compare myself with Babar Azam. He is currently one of the top batters in the world, and I have great respect for his achievements. My intention was only to highlight that he is not naturally a middle-order batter in T20 cricket, as that position doesn’t fully suit his batting style. There was no comparison — just a point about role suitability in the format. It was just a fan repost and was not deliberately edited in any way," wrote Akmal on X.

I want to clarify that my aim was never to compare myself with Babar Azam. He is currently one of the top batters in the world, and I have great respect for his achievements. My intention was only to highlight that he is not naturally a middle-order batter in T20 cricket, as that… pic.twitter.com/Agn6l8LVeq

— Umar Akmal (@Umar96Akmal) February 27, 2026

Babar Azam has failed to light up the T20 World Cup 2026 with the bat. In the four innings he has played in 6 games, Babar has made 91 runs at a strike rate of 112.34, and his best score is 46. He has hit 7 fours and one solitary six.

Pakistan will next be in action against Sri Lanka on September 28 in Pallekele in their final Super 8s game.