Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson has denied reports claiming he asked senior batter Babar Azam to take up wicket-keeping to regain his spot in the T20I team. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Hesson said no such conversation happened and called the rumours disrespectful to Babar.
This comes after several reports in the Pakistan media claimed that Hesson, during a meeting with senior players in Lahore, had asked Babar to consider wicket-keeping. The reports said the meeting also included Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi, and that the team management wanted Babar to take up an additional role to be reconsidered for selection.
Babar Azam and Rizwan were both dropped from the T20I squad earlier this year and have not been picked for the upcoming Bangladesh series, starting July 20. The rumours gained momentum after Babar's continued exclusion from the squad.
Advertisement
Also read: Pat Cummins Skips South Africa Tour to Prepare for Ashes
Babar Azam Was Never Asked to Keep Wickets: Mike Hesson
Hesson has now come out and strongly refuted those claims. Clearing up the confusion, he informed that Babar was never asked to keep wickets.
"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 to the media.
Hesson said that Babar is not being looked at as a wicket-keeping option and will return to the side only as an opener for which he is competing with Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub.
"Firstly, Babar Azam is not seen as a wicketkeeping option, no. 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 [Zaman] and Saim [Ayub] in those two roles at the moment, so he’s competing for that," he added.
Despite being Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in T20Is with over 4,200 runs at an average of 39.83, Babar’s strike-rate of 129.22 remains a sticking point as the team embraces a more aggressive approach.
On Babar’s strike rate in T20s, Hesson acknowledged that while scoring quickly is important, it should be balanced with consistency.
"No doubt strike rate is important in T20 cricket but you have to combine it with a volume of runs. 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," Hesson opined.
He also stated Babar is already making changes to his game.
"Babar is one of many who have the ability to make those improvements. And I’m here to work with them and help them. In the last month or so, he’s made some really good changes. It’s not just a matter of going from 125 to 150, it’s a matter of increasing what you can offer because we’re no doubt often 30-40 runs short with the bat. So, we need to find a way of getting that," Hesson asserted.
Advertisement
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20Is
The squad for the Bangladesh series is currently training at a camp in Karachi. Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen have also been asked to attend, even though they are not part of the playing contingent.
Pakistan recently cleanswept Bangladesh at home in a three-match T20I series. The side led by Agha Salman will now head to Bangladesh to play three more T20Is.
Pakistan squad: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Sufyan Moqim.
Also read: Historic Day for Italy as They Join Netherlands in T20 World Cup 2026
