Babar Azam’s last few months have felt exactly like that: a rollercoaster. One week, the noise around him was about fading touch, strike-rate arguments and whether Pakistan’s former all-format captain was slipping out of the conversation. A few days later, he was back doing what he does best — batting deep, making it look calm, and dragging Peshawar Zalmi into the PSL 2026 final with a hundred against Islamabad United.
The innings that changed the mood came in the Qualifier, where Babar made 103 off 59 balls, hitting 12 fours and four sixes as Zalmi piled up 221 for 7 and then beat Islamabad United by 70 runs. It was Zalmi’s first PSL final since 2021, and it arrived on the back of a knock that felt less like a flashy surprise and more like a reminder: Babar, for all the criticism, still knows how to own a big night.
There’s context here, and it matters. ESPNcricinfo reported before the final that Babar had scored 588 runs in PSL 2026 at an average of 84.00 and a strike rate of 146.26, while also becoming the first batter to cross 4,000 runs in the tournament’s history. That matters because the conversation around him lately hasn’t really been about talent. It’s been about whether the old authority was still there. In this tournament, at least, the answer looked pretty clear.
What made the comeback arc more convincing was Babar’s own explanation. After the qualifier, he said discipline, self-analysis and a return to basics helped him deliver when it counted. That’s not dramatic language, and maybe that’s the point. Players under pressure often talk about blocking out the noise; Babar’s version sounded more like a craftsman going back to his tools. No grand speeches. Just method.
This is why the “rollercoaster” line fits, even though I could not independently verify it as a direct quote from Babar himself. The broader storyline, though, is well supported: he came into this phase under scrutiny, answered with runs, and pushed Zalmi into a title shot with one of the standout knocks of the season. His PSL 2026 campaign has also been described in recent coverage as a return to his “best” or “vintage” form.
And then came one last twist, because of course it did. In the PSL final on May 4, 2026, Babar was dismissed for a duck, but Peshawar Zalmi still won the title by five wickets, giving him his first T20 title as captain. That ending almost sharpened the theme rather than spoiling it. Comebacks are rarely neat. Even on the night his team finished the job, the script still found room for one more dip before the rise.
For Babar, that may be the real takeaway. Form isn’t a straight road, and reputations in modern cricket swing wildly from week to week. But players of his class don’t usually disappear for long. They adjust, absorb the hits, and when the moment comes, they climb back in.
This PSL season, Babar Azam did exactly that.
