Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson quashed all speculations that suggested that he had requested former captain Babar Azam to take up wicket-keeping to bid and reclaim his spot in the T20I set-up.
Babar, who was dropped alongside senior batter Mohammed Rizwan from the T20I squad early in March, continued to be snubbed from the team announced for the forthcoming Bangladesh series, starting July 20. Speculations had then surfaced that Babar was asked by the team management to work on an additional role besides being a top-order batsman to regain a slot in the T20I side.
Hesson clarified that Pakistan did not view Babar, the team’s highest-ever T20I run-scorer as a wicket-keeping option, denying all rumours.
“No discussion took place with Babar where I suggested he also keep wickets. He has never kept wickets in his entire career and you suggest he keeps wickets. This is not the way to treat a former captain and senior,” Hesson told the reporters, according to PTI.
“Firstly, Babar Azam is not seen as a wicketkeeping option, no,” Hesson said. “Not sure where that came from, but I have heard that speculation. Babar is competing for one of the opening positions at the moment. But obviously we have Fakhar [Zaman] and Saim [Ayub] in those two roles at the moment, so he’s competing for that.”
Despite racking up 4223 with an average close to 40, Babar’s middling 129.22 strike rate came in the way of a crucial top-order spot in the shortest format. Hesson also clarified that he had not mentioned that only players with a strike rate north of 150 will be considered for T20Is.
“No doubt strike rate is important in T20 cricket but you have to combine it with a volume of runs,” Hesson said. “There’s a good reason why our ranking in T20 cricket is as low as it is, because our strike rates from a batting point of view are not high enough. We certainly made some shifts in that last series to play a more expansive game of cricket and probably catch up with the rest of the world, as that is the way the modern game is.
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However, Hesson acknowledged that the 30-year-old Babar needed improvement on scoring rates, while backing him to make amends.
“Babar is one of many who have the ability to make those improvements. And I’m here to work with them and help them. In the last month or so, he’s made some really good changes. It’s not just a matter of going from 125 to 150, it’s a matter of increasing what you can offer because we’re no doubt often 30-40 runs short with the bat. So, we need to find a way of getting that.”
Pakistan squad for Bangladesh T20Is: Salman Ali Agha (Captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Sufyan Moqim.
