Pakistan’s white-ball coach Mike Hesson has shut down rumours suggesting he asked Babar Azam to take up wicketkeeping in order to regain his place in the national T20I side. Babar along with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan was recently left out of Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh later this month. Soon after, reports began circulating that Hesson had advised Babar to don the gloves. This led to a wave of criticism from former cricketers, including Rashid Latif, Basit Ali, Mohsin Khan, Moin Khan and Sikander Bakht.
Basit Ali, speaking on the matter, said, “They are being very unfair with Babar, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi but I can assure you these three will be back soon.”
In response to the speculation, Hesson made it clear that no such conversation ever happened. He also stressed that Babar would return to the team, if selected, as a top-order batter.
“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 said, as quoted by PTI.
Hesson also dismissed reports that he had told players they would be dropped unless they maintained a strike rate above 150. He explained that while strike rate is important in modern T20 cricket, no rigid benchmarks have been set.
“I have also not told the players that if they want to keep their places in the team they have to bat at strike rates of over 150. We are working on some things in this direction,” he said.
Looking ahead, Hesson shared that he is working closely with the selectors to shape a younger T20 team with a style better suited for the format. The goal is to find players who can adapt to different roles and positions within the batting order.
“We are looking at players who are ready to float in the batting order and perform multiple roles but that does not mean there will be no spot for specialist players,” Hesson added.
Pakistan squad for T20I series against Bangladesh
Salman Agha (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem
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