KARACHI (Kashmir English): Pakistan’s new white-ball head coach, Mike Hesson, has revealed a clear strategy to bring star players Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi back into the national T20I squad, ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Speaking about the team’s future, Mike Hesson confirmed that both Babar and Afridi are still considered crucial to Pakistan’s white-ball plans. He shared that the two players are part of the ongoing training camp in Karachi and will be included in the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Mirpur. Hesson’s goal is to give them a strong platform to regain form and confidence.
Babar and Shaheen played a major role in helping Pakistan to consecutive appearances in the knockout stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021 and 2022, but have recently fallen out of favour in the shortest format and were notable absentees in Hesson’s first squad that swept Bangladesh 3-0 on home soil at the start of last month.
Hesson suggested Babar and Shaheen are both still heavily in his long-term plans for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka and the pair are currently in Karachi taking part in a training camp alongside their teammates that will travel to Bangladesh later this month for a three-match T20I series in Mirpur.
Babar Azam not seen as a wicketkeeping option: Mike Hesson
“Firstly, Babar Azam is not seen as a wicket-keeping option, no,” Mike 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 and Saim in those two roles at the moment, so he’s competing for that.”
Addressing speculations about Babar Azam becoming a wicketkeeper, Mike Hesson clarified that there is no such plan. Instead, Babar will compete for an opening batter’s role, facing competition from Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub. However, Hesson did highlight one concern: Babar’s strike rate. With a current rate of 129.81, he trails behind Fakhar (133.49) and Ayub (138.48). Hesson urged Babar to improve his scoring pace and adapt to the fast-changing style of modern T20 cricket.
“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.
Shaheen Shah Afridi is a world-class player: Mike Hesson
Hesson didn’t reveal the exact areas that he wanted Afridi to improve in, but did suggest the left-armer needed to perform better with the white-ball.
“Shaheen Shah Afridi is a world-class player. There’s no doubt that we’ve identified some areas that Shaheen needs to work on, as does every player at this camp,” Mike Hesson noted.
“But there’s a good reason that he, and everybody else, is at this camp. They’re in the wider frame for Pakistan in white-ball cricket and that includes T20 cricket.
“Players go through good periods and periods where they’re a little bit down in their game. And it’s up to us as coaching staff to try and get our best players on the park and make them better, so when they play for Pakistan, they perform better.
