Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi completely disagrees with Mike Hesson’s strategies and has criticized him for not promoting Babar Azam midway through the ICC T20 World Cup, especially after Sam Ayub failed to score runs at the top of the order.
Pakistan lost the match to England by 2 wickets, although English captain Harry Brook alone scored extensively as he scored a century in 51 balls to take his team to the knockout. This defeat not only affected their prospects but also affected their high morale, which they demonstrated by winning several T20I series in this ICC tournament.
However, results in big money matches have not been consistent with him. They were defeated by India and later by England. The second big match against New Zealand was fortunately washed out by rain.
Shahid Afridi angrily said on Mike Hesson, “When Saeem Ayub failed to perform, Babar should have been offered his place.”
Pakistan have selected Sam Ayub as their opening batsman for the T20 World Cup, along with the dynamic Sahibzada Farhan, who has been exceptionally consistent for them, barring one match against India. Although Farhan is the leading run-scorer in the competition, Ayub’s batting form has been a major concern recently.
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is now angry with Mike Hesson for not giving Babar Azam the top spot as he was in the eleven as one of the most experienced batsmen in the T20 unit.
Afridi said, “They had a senior option in Babar Azam, who is not an ideal player to play at No. 4. You planned to play at No. 4, and now you have lost a lot of matches, so you should replace him in his natural role at the top.”
Although Sam Ayub remains useful, as he can bowl quality spin and has excelled with the ball recently, Shahid Afridi feels he should have been offered a different role after failing at the top.
“Sam Ayub in particular was playing as an opener in the first few matches but after failing to make an impact as an opener, Babar should have replaced him,” Afridi said.
“They also had Fakhar as an option.” – Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi continued to blame the Pakistani head coach as after Babar, he pointed to the presence of another experienced batsman in the team, Fakhar Zaman. Zaman has been a part of several pre-World Cup appearances for India; However, he is no longer a part of the first choice XI.
“They also had another option in the form of Fakhar Zaman. But for him, I can assume that he is a player who can perform equally well by coming in at No. 5 or 6 in the middle order.”
He seemed quite disappointed with the wrong call on Babar Azam, giving Fakhar Zaman an excuse for not getting promotion, as the left-handed batsman has the ability to take the scoring rate higher towards the end of the innings and also deliver in the middle overs.
After this Shahid Afridi said, “I don’t want to be so irritable early in the morning. This will ruin my ‘roza’.”
Shahid Afridi is angry with Mike Hesson for not sending Babar as opener despite Siam’s failure.pic.twitter.com/KhT2IPk1TT
– Pakistan Cricket Team USA FC (@DoctorofCricket) 25 February 2026
Pakistan’s chances of qualification are slim after New Zealand’s impressive win against Sri Lanka
Colombo’s R yesterday. After New Zealand’s spectacular win over Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium. Sri Lanka are officially out, and they will be the final match opponent for Pakistan, which is a must win for them.
New Zealand’s last match is against the English team. England are not in the best form, although they have scored runs consistently. New Zealand may still have the upper hand over the England team, which has already reached the semi-finals.
To qualify, Pakistan will have to win against Sri Lanka by extra runs and New Zealand will have to defeat the English team. Therefore, Pakistan will look towards the British and request them to keep their opportunities open.
Also read: Gautam Gambhir removed, RCB captain chooses Australian maestro as India’s head coach
