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Pakistan’s newly appointed white-ball head coach, Mike Hesson, has recently opened up on the future of stalwarts Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the national T20I team.
Babar and Rizwan, who were previously dropped for the New Zealand T20Is to give youngsters international exposure, have once again been left out of Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh.
Hesson, in an exclusive interview with a local sports platform, addressed their future, asserting that selection will be dictated by team roles, not past records or reputations.
“The plans will be based around what roles we want to play and the style of cricket that we want,” Hesson said.
“Once we nail down the way we want to play, there will obviously be significant or specific roles around that, and then we will start to populate those roles with players we believe can fulfil them.”
It’s a clear shift in philosophy. While Babar and Rizwan have been the backbone of Pakistan’s T20I setup for years, their omission from the squad speaks volumes.
Mike Hesson, a former New Zealand coach with a reputation for system-based cricket, sounded upbeat about the challenge.
“I am very excited about this opportunity. I believe I can bring significant improvement to the Pakistan team and help us play white-ball cricket that is modern, successful, and capable of winning — cricket that can once again inspire the fans,” he said.
It’s worth noting that Hesson’s first official assignment will be the Bangladesh T20I series.
The series was initially planned as a five-match engagement in Faisalabad but had to be revised due to logistical and security concerns.
The action-packed series will kick off with the first T20I on Wednesday, 28 May, followed by the second fixture on Friday, 30 May. The third and final T20I is set to take place on Sunday, 1 June.
Pakistan squad: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), and Saim Ayub.
READ: Revised schedule for Pakistan-Bangladesh T20I series revealed
