3 min readUpdated: Mar 9, 2026 10:20 PM IST
Days after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made a bold move by dropping big names like Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, and Naseem Shah from the ODI series against Bangladesh, Pakistan’s white-ball coach Mike Hesson said that the exclusion of these senior players should not be considered as punishment for non-performance in the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.
“I wouldn’t say anyone was dropped. We just see this series as an opportunity to give these promising players a chance to prove themselves,” Hesson was quoted as saying by PTI.
Hesson insisted that Pakistan have had scant opportunities to test young, promising talent. He said with the ODI World Cup scheduled for next year, they wanted to see how these players respond.
“Sahabzada Farhan has forced himself into the ODI squad because of his exceptional performances in T20s, and young players like Shamyl Hussain or Maaz Sadaqat have been doing well in domestic cricket and junior sides. The series will not be easy as Bangladesh have been playing a lot more one-day cricket than us. I see this series as a big opportunity for these new players,” Hesson said.
After an underwhelming T20 World Cup, Pakistan’s cricket management decided to drop star batter Babar Azam from the side that will tour Bangladesh for a three-match series from next week. Babar had scored a century in the last ODI series Pakistan played, a 102 against Sri Lanka in November, but faced the axe when the 15-member squad was named.
Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has been handed the captaincy of the side for the three-match series, while six uncapped players have been called up, including Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Saad Masood, and Shamyl Hussain, who played against the England Lions in Abu Dhabi before the series was called off due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Pakistan cricketers were also fined $18,000 each after the team’s failure to reach the T20 World Cup semifinals. Besides Pakistan coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Ali Agha, Babar also came under withering criticism during the T20 World Cup where Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals.
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Pakistan ODI squad vs Bangladesh
Shaheen Shah Afridi (C), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha and Shamyl Hussain.
