The former cricketer claimed that he went through Mike Hesson’s comments several times but could not decipher their meaning.
Why there are noises around Babar Azam
During an interaction season with Game On Hai, Hafeez severely criticized the coach. Hesson stated in the pre-match presser for 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 high pace.
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After being demolished by Team India, Pakistan had no choice but to outdo Namibia in their final group match. During the must-win match against Namibia, while Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan scored a stunning century, Babar Azam, who was assigned to bat at number 4, did not come to bat due to the management’s decision.
The Pakistan head coach criticized Azam’s success rate
Pakistan’s victory 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 holds the top spot in the list of most runs in a career in T20Is with 4571 runs in 144 matches.
“I think he is well aware that his strike rate in the powerplay in (T20) World Cups is less than 100. “So it’s clearly not a role we think we need here,” Mike Hesson said at the press conference when asked about Azam’s role in the set-up.
“We think he’s a great player in the middle if needed, when we’re in trouble. Or as we saw against the US, once he sets himself up, he can increase his strike rate at that point. So we brought Babar back for a specific role after the Asia Cup. We wanted some batsmanship through the middle, and he certainly brought that for us,” he added.
Hafeez asked a question to Mike Hesson
Hesson’s comments did not go down well with Mohammad Hafeez. The former skipper wondered: if the batsman is not in favor of the strategy, why is he in the playing combination?
“He (Mike Hesson) said that he is not a powerplay batsman because his strike rate is 100… I read this statement 15 times, but I didn’t understand it. That’s why I’m asking you, because you are like an older brother, maybe you will understand. He said that Babar can’t bat in the first six overs, because his strike rate is quite low; he gave that statistic, and he couldn’t bat after the 10th over either. Toh vo khel kyu raha hai? (Why is he playing?)” Hafeez said immediately.
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