Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been advised to improve his batting against spin and raise his overall strike rate in order to be considered for selection in Pakistan’s Twenty20 International (T20I) squad, head coach Mike Hesson said.
Babar, regarded as Pakistan’s batting mainstay in Tests and ODIs, has not played a T20I since the team’s tour of South Africa late last year. The 30-year-old was also left out of Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, with the selectors opting for in-form players like Sahibzada Farhan, who has already earned three player-of-the-match awards in just six games.
“There’s no doubt Babar’s been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate,” Hesson said, pointing to Babar’s modest career strike rate of 129 in T20Is. “Those are things he’s working really hard on. But at the moment the players we have, have done exceptionally well.”
Big Bash League Opportunity
Hesson suggested that Babar should consider playing in the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia to refine his 20-over batting and demonstrate his improvement.
“A player like Babar has an opportunity to play in the BBL and show he’s improving in those areas in T20s. He’s too good a player not to consider,” he added.
Asia Cup 2025
Pakistan will kick off their Asia Cup Group A campaign against Oman in Dubai on September 12, followed by the high-voltage clash against India at the same venue on September 14.
