Mike Hesson on Babar Azam: We do not want such performance from Babar Azam, Pakistan’s head coach said – his strike rate is less than a hundred

Colombo. Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson has denied that the decision to drop fast bowler Shaheen Afridi from the match against Namibia and send Babar Azam down the batting order was taken because of the defeat to India in the T20 World Cup. India had defeated Pakistan by 61 runs in the T20 World Cup match. Afridi had given 15 runs in the last over and Babar was out after scoring only five runs.

Mike Hesson told the media, ‘There is no such thing (the decision to drop Shaheen and send down Babar was taken because of the loss to India). Fast bowler Salman Mirza should also have got a chance. He said, ‘This was a decision taken regarding the roles of the players.’

Hesson said, ‘Babar knows very well that his strike rate in the powerplay in the World Cup is less than a hundred. We don’t want such performance from him. He plays well in the middle order and we saw that against America. Once settled at the crease, he can increase the strike rate.

In the first three matches of Group A of the T20 World Cup 2026 for the Salman Ali Aga-led team, Babar Azam scored 15 runs in 18 balls, 46 runs in 32 balls and 5 runs in 7 balls against Netherlands, USA and India respectively. Babar’s mediocre performances with the bat in the current tournament have raised questions about his place in the playing eleven, and many Pakistanis believe that the current team management is exploiting Babar by making him bat in the middle order.