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Mike Hesson is slowly and steadily leaving his mark on the Pakistan white-ball team. The Salman Ali Agha-led T20I side has finally adopted the slam-bang approach, and all the players have adopted the strategy of teeing off from ball number one, keeping up with the modern trends. The new tactic paid off in the recently concluded Tri-Nation series against Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates. However, as Pakistan get close to playing their first match of the Asia Cup 2025 campaign, questions still remain over the exclusion of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram weighed in on the current Pakistani side, saying the T20I team has started to do well despite Babar and Rizwan’s absence. He stated that both senior players were given enough chances, but they weren’t that consistent, and hence, there was a need to try out new players.
Babar and Rizwan were shown the door from the T20I setup after the Champions Trophy, where Pakistan failed to reach the semi-final. Despite the tournament being played in the 50-over format, the selectors decided to look past them when it came to international T20S.
“I think this team is doing OK. They have given enough chances to Babar and Rizwan as openers for 4 or 5 years. They did well, but not as well, not as consistently, and hence the new boys,” said Akram on Sony Sports before the start of the Afghanistan versus Hong Kong China game.
Also Read: ‘Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan not key players. That term is for those who win games’: Duo humiliated amid Asia Cup snub
“Babar is not there, Rizwan is not there. I think the idea was to move on from them, to go to these youngsters. They’ve done well, haven’t been consistent, but at least they have the right mindset. They don’t have a fear of losing. When you have a fear of losing, you buckle under pressure. So these guys, they might lose, but I think Salman Agha is a good captain,” he added.
Pakistan to begin campaign on September 12
Pakistan will begin their Asia Cup 2025 campaign against Oman on Friday, September 12. Ahead of the fixture, Akram reserved some high praise for Salman Ali Agha, saying the T20I captain has done his job well and will slowly take the team in the right direction.
“He’s leading from the front. He sacrifices his place at number 4-5, according to the situation. They shouldn’t make too many experiments with this team. They can beat top teams on a regular basis,” he said.
However, Akram also argued that Babar should be included in the T20I setup going forward, saying his experience can prove crucial if Pakistan are set tricky totals of 150-160 on difficult tracks. It must be stated that both Babar and Rizwan received flak for their inability, at times, to force the pace on good batting surfaces.
“I just recently said that I want Babar to be in T20. Just think about him because against stronger sides, if you’re going to chase 150 or 160 on a pitch like this or in any slightly dodgy wicket, it’ll be difficult. You have to change your game a bit. Maybe that will be useful,” said Akram.
