3 months ago
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Pakistan caput manager Mike Hesson connected Friday (February 20, 2026) explained his team’s determination to not nonstop talisman Babar Azam astatine No. 4 successful its past group-stage crippled against Namibia, stating that helium would not person been ‘the champion idiosyncratic to travel in’.
“The different day, we got to the 12th-over people and astatine that constituent Babar Azam was not the champion idiosyncratic to travel in. We’ve got plentifulness of different options who tin travel successful and execute that [finishing] role. And Babar’s really the archetypal to admit that,” Hesson said earlier Pakistan’s Super Eight lucifer against New Zealand successful Colombo.
Hesson, however, insisted that Babar volition bat astatine No. 4 going ahead, contempt coming nether scrutiny.
“He’s good alert that his onslaught complaint successful the PowerPlay successful World Cups is little than 100, truthful intelligibly that’s not a relation we need.”
“We got Babar backmost successful for a circumstantial relation station the Asia Cup, we wanted immoderate batsmanship done the mediate (overs) and helium surely brings that for us,” Hesson said.
Elaborating connected the telephone to driblet Shaheen Afridi, Hesson said, “We picked the champion squad to play that peculiar game. Salman Mirza has bowled incredibly well, helium was astir apt truly unlucky to not beryllium playing the 2nd and 3rd games, his grounds since helium started playing for Pakistan is exceptional”.
