Islamabad [Pakistan], August 18 : Pakistan coach Mike Hesson said that star batter Babar Azam could make his return to the T20I set-up by working on his game against spin and strike rate and admitted that the 30-year-old was "working really hard on" these things.
Babar has not featured in the shortest format for Pakistan since the end of last year, and the right-hander was recently left out of the side's squad for the upcoming tri-series against the UAE and Afghanistan and next month's Asia Cup.
The former Pakistan captain looked in decent touch when he managed 47 from 64 deliveries during the opening match of Pakistan's recent ODI series against the West Indies in Trinidad, but a pair of failures (zero and nine) from the ensuing contests failed to grab the attention of selectors.
His overall strike rate of 129.22 and 133.21 last year in 24 matches and 23 innings, during which he gathered 738 runs with six fifties to his name, attracted plenty of criticism.
Hesson suggested two key areas that Babar must address if he wishes to return to the international fold for the next edition of the T20 World Cup at the start of next year, and has left the door ajar should the former Pakistan skipper be able to perform well during Australia's domestic Big Bash (BBL) competition in December and January.
"There is no doubt Babar's been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate. Those are things he is working really hard on," Hesson said as quoted by ICC.
"But at the moment the players we have, have done exceptionally well. Sahibzada Farhan has played six games (against Bangladesh and West Indies) and won three Player of the Match awards."
"A player like Babar has an opportunity to play in the BBL and show he is improving in those areas in T20s. He is too good a player not to consider," he added.
The absence of Babar was not the only surprise in Hesson's squad for Pakistan's upcoming contests, with Mohammad Rizwan also missing out on the 17-player group as selectors opted to choose batters that consistently scored at a high strike rate.
Hesson indicated it was important that players who had performed well in recent white-ball matches were rewarded and said that choosing batters who scored quickly would be part of his selection process going forward.
"We were challenged with three different surfaces (in recent matches against Bangladesh and West Indies)" Hesson said.
"In Lahore, the surfaces were flat and the batting excelled. We went to Bangladesh, where they were incredibly challenging and low-scoring games. Our top-order sets the game up. All the games we won the top order performed really well."
"The third game in the West Indies, our openers put on 140 (138). We need a run rate that puts us ahead of the game. T20 is all about setting the game up and being ahead of the game all the time in case you get yourself out. From a batting point of view, we have got a line-up that can continue to do that," he added.
The Asia Cup will kickstart from September 9 onwards, with Pakistan starting their campaign against Oman on September 12, followed by a high-profile clash with arch-rivals India on September 14.
Pakistan squad for tri-series and Asia Cup: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.
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