Islamabad : Pakistan coach Mike Hesson stated that star batsman Babar Azam may return to the T20I lineup by focusing on improving his strike rate and gameplay versus spin. He also acknowledged that the 30-year-old is putting a lot of effort into these areas.
The shortest format has not included Babar for Pakistan since the end of last year, and the right-hander was recently left out of the team's lineup for the forthcoming triseries against the UAE and Afghanistan, as well as next month's Asia Cup.
The former Pakistan captain appeared to be in good form when he scored 47 runs off 64 balls in the first game of Pakistan's most recent ODI series against the West Indies in Trinidad, but a couple of blunders (zero and nine) in the following games did not catch the eye of the selectors.
His overall strike rate of 129.22 and 133.21 in 24 games and 23 innings last year, during which he scored 738 runs with six fifties to his credit, drew a lot of flak.
Babbar must concentrate on two important areas, according to Hesson, in order to rejoin the international fold for the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup, which will be held at the beginning of the next year. If the former Pakistan captain is able to excel during Australia's domestic Big Bash (BBL) tournament in December and January, Hesson has left the door open for him.
Without a doubt, Babar has been instructed to get better in a few aspects, notably when it comes to his strike rate and how he handles spin. According to ICC, Hesson said that he is working really hard on those things.
However, the players we currently have have performed admirably. Against Bangladesh and the West Indies, Sahibzada Farhan has participated in six matches, earning three Player of the Match titles.
In T20s, a player like Babar may demonstrate his progress in those areas by playing in the BBL. He is simply too good to be overlooked, he said.
In addition to the absence of Babar, Hesson's lineup included other surprises for Pakistan's forthcoming matches, with Mohammad Rizwan also missing from the 17-man team as selectors chose batters who consistently scored at a high strike rate.
Hesson stressed the necessity of rewarding players who had done well in recent whiteball games and said that selecting hitters who scored quickly would be a component of his future selection procedure.
In recent games against Bangladesh and the West Indies, we had three distinct surfaces to deal with, according to Hesson.
The batting was outstanding in Lahore, where the surfaces were level. Our trip to Bangladesh was characterized by extremely difficult and low-scoring matches. Our best order establishes the game. The top order of all the games we won played exceptionally well.
Our openers scored 140 (138) in the third game of the West Indies series. Our run rate needs to be higher than the competition. In T20, you must always be one step ahead of the opposition in case you ever find yourself out. You must also plan the game out. In terms of hitting, we have a squad that can keep doing that, he said.
The Asia Cup will begin on September 9, with Pakistan opening its season with a game against Oman on September 12, followed by a blockbuster match against India, their bitter opponents, on September 14.
The Pakistan team for the Asia Cup and triseries consists of Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.
