Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson made a blunt assessment on Babar Azam ahead of the team's Super 8 opener against New Zealand in Colombo. Azam did not bat in Pakistan's must win game against Namibia as questions regarding his 'fit' in the side remain. Hesson said that the Pakistan stalwart was not sent to bat because his strike rate was below 100.
"Babar is well aware of that. I think he's well aware (his) strike rate in the powerplay in World Cups is less than 100 in T20s. So clearly, that's not a role that we think here we need. We think he's a fine player through the middle, if required, in terms of if we're in a little bit of trouble," Hesson said in his press conference.
Babar was among players severely criticised following Pakistan's humiliating 61-run loss to India in Colombo. Throughout the tournament, the 31-year-old has failed to deliver, scoring 66 runs at a strike rate of 115.78. Much of those runs came in his 46-run knock against the USA.
Azam was dropped from the T20 side and did not feature in the Asia Cup 2025 only for him to be recalled. Hesson said that once Babar is set, he can up his strike rate and is a player they are looking at to come in a crisis situation. However, in both games against Netherlands and India, Azam failed to do so.
Against Namibia, Shadab Khan was promoted ahead of Babar, who ultimately did not get a chance to bat as Sahibzada Farhan and Shadab saw out the full 20 overs.
Hesson said Babar was not the ideal batter to walk in around the 12th over, as Pakistan were looking to accelerate at that stage of the innings.
"So, the other day we got to the 12th over mark and at that point, Babar Azam is not the best person to come in. We've got plenty of other options who can come in and perform that role towards the end. He knows that he's got a certain set of skills that the team require, and there are certain times where other players can perform that role more efficiently," added Hesson.
