After falling out of favor in the Twenty20 International format during Pakistan’s last five assignments, former captain Babar Azam was picked for the upcoming three-match series against South Africa only after Fakhar Zaman decided to skip it, White team head coach Mike Hesson said on Sunday.
Since Hesson took over in June, Babar has not appeared for Pakistan in T20Is with the national team playing series against Bangladesh, the West Indies and a tri-national series followed by the Asia Cup during that period.
Hesson had cited the right-hander’s low strike rate as the reason for his absence. But Babar’s selection for the series, which begins on Tuesday in Rawalpindi, suggested a change of heart on the part of the coach before the New Zealander clarified it.
“I certainly support his selection,” Hesson said of Babar while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Pakistan’s training session at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. “We sent him (Fakhar) back to first-class cricket after a conversation with him.
“He wanted to concentrate on improving his technique for one-day cricket, so we gave him a little break from T20s. That created an opportunity for another top-class player.”
Hesson confirmed that Babar will take up the number three slot rather than the batsman’s preferred starting position, where he flourished for Pakistan for a substantial period before eventually falling into form and then falling out of favour.
The coach, however, is expecting Babar to make a strong comeback and suggested he saw him in Pakistan’s plans for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in February-March next year in India and Sri Lanka.
“It’s a great opportunity to have Babar back,” said the coach. “He is likely to bat at number three, a role I am sure he will play well in.
“It also gives our team some flexibility when it comes to [T20] World Cup.”
‘Haris needs to work’
Babar’s unexpected return also coincided with the dismissal of wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Haris from the Pakistan team, even after receiving extensive backing from the team management during Hesson’s tenure so far.
The 24-year-old proved his worth with a century against Bangladesh in June but gradually lost form amid frequent changes in batting positions.
Hesson believed Haris needed to go back to the drawing board to fix his problems.
“Haris has had several opportunities lately and he would be the first to admit that he has not made the most of them,” he said. “But he’s still young and developing, so I wouldn’t say his career is over.
“He needs to work on his decision-making with the bat. Even in domestic T20s, he averages around 17, similar to international cricket, so it is an area for improvement.”
Haris has been replaced by Usman Khan, who last year gave up his UAE career to play for Pakistan before eventually being dropped. He came out of nowhere and Hesson said he sees the right-hander, who also keeps wickets, as a good spin player.
“We see our keeper batting more in the middle than over the top, especially since spin was such a big factor in Sri Lanka during the World Cup. That’s why Usman has been given this opportunity.”
