Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez criticized Pakistan men’s cricket team head coach Mike Hesson for making some comments on Babar Azam’s strike rate in the format. For Hafeez, Hesson’s comments meant nothing.
The former cricketer claimed that he saw Mike Hesson’s comments several times but could not understand their meaning.
Why is there noise about Babar Azam?
During an interview with Game On Hai during the season, Hafeez heavily criticized the coach. Hesson said in the pre-match press of their Super 8 match with New Zealand that Babar Azam’s strike rate is not suitable for top-order batting when the team needs to score runs at a fast pace.
After losing to Team India, Pakistan had no option but to beat Namibia in their final group encounter. The match with Namibia was must-win, while Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan scored a brilliant century, Babar Azam, who was appointed to bat at number 4, did not come to bat due to a management decision.
Pakistan’s head coach criticized Azam’s strike rate
Pakistan’s win over Namibia was not enough to dispel doubts about Babar Azam’s role in the team. The right-handed batsman, who has been struggling with form in the format, still tops the list of highest career run-scorers in T20Is with 4571 runs in 144 matches.
“I think he’s well aware that his strike rate in the powerplay in the (T20) World Cup is under 100. So clearly, it’s not the role we feel we need here,” Mike Hesson said in the press conference when asked about Azam’s role in the setup.
He further added, “We feel that if needed, he is a good player in the middle order if we are in a bit of trouble. Or as we saw against the United States, once he sets himself up, he can increase his strike rate at that time. So, we brought Babar back for a specific role after the Asia Cup. We wanted some batting in the middle order, and he definitely brought that for us.”
Hafeez raised questions on Mike Hesson
Hesson’s comment did not go down well with Mohammad Hafeez. The former captain questioned, if the batsman is not there for strategy then why is he in the playing combination?
“He (Mike Hesson) said that neither is he a powerplay batsman because his strike-rate is 100… I read this statement 15 times, but I did not understand, so I am asking you, because you are like an elder brother, maybe you will understand. He said that Babar cannot bat in the first six overs because his strike-rate is very low; he gave that statement, neither could he bat after the 10th over. So that game Why?” Hafiz said directly.
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