Pakistan coach backs Babar Azam’s return for South Africa T20Is

Pakistan coach Mike Hesson has thrown his support behind Babar Azam’s return to the T20 squad, as the three-match series against South Africa starts in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.

Azam, 31, has been recalled for the first time since December last year, having previously been dropped due to concerns over his strike rate in the format. But Hesson believes the timing is right for the batsman to make his comeback.

“Yes, I certainly endorse his selection,” Hesson said on Sunday. “We have rested Fakhar Zaman for this series, so it was a good opportunity to bring back Azam and I am confident he will do well.”

Azam, who captained Pakistan across all formats before stepping down in October 2024, is on the verge of a major milestone. He needs just nine runs to surpass India’s Rohit Sharma as the leading run-scorer in T20 internationals. Sharma currently has 4,231 runs from 159 matches, while Azam sits at 4,223 from 128 games.

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Hesson, who took charge of the team in May, sees Azam’s return as a strategic move ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

“Azam is likely to bat at number three and it is a role that I am confident that he will be able to do well and give us some options coming into the World Cup,” he said.

Despite South Africa missing several key players, Hesson remains cautious about the threat they pose.

“Look, the squad that South Africa put together is a very dangerous side and we are wary of that,” he said, referring to the team captained by Donovan Ferreira.

South Africa will be without key batsman David Miller, who was ruled out due to a hamstring injury, and fast bowler Gerald Coetzee, sidelined with a pectoral muscle issue. Opener Aiden Markram and paceman Kagiso Rabada have also been rested for the series.

The final two matches of the series will be played in Lahore on Friday and Saturday.

To a query, the Green Shirts coach said Mohammad Haris had had a lot of opportunity in recent times but he did not grab those opportunities. However, he dismissed the notion that it ended his career in the short format.

“He’s still young and he’s still a very much a developing player. So, I certainly would never say his career is over. What I’d say is he certainly has to work a lot around the decision-making with the bat,” he said.

The coach said even in domestic cricket, Haris averaged 17 with the bat in T20s. So that’s somewhere where he needed to improve to come back and force his case back into the side, he added.

Justifying Usman Khan’s position in the national side, he said Usman was a good batsman at the middle order and also handled spin impressively. Hence, he said, the wicketkeeper batter would be a huge component for the upcoming T20I World Cup.