Pakistan coach Mike Hesson explains Asia Cup squad on social media amid Babar Azam criticism: 'Excited to see some fresh faces'

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson has taken to social media platforms to explain the team selection amid the criticism for leaving out Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 . Pakistan start their Asia Cup campaign on 12 September in Dubai against Oman, before facing India and the UAE in the group stage.

Neither Babar and Rizwan has played T20Is recently, while Salman Agha has been named as the captain. However, with such a big tournament in the offing, it was felt that one among Babar or Rizwan can make a comeback as they are top run-getters in T20Is for Pakistan. But that did not happen.

Hesson asks Babar to improve strike rate

Defending the decision not to include Babar, Hesson at the press conference said that the right-handed batter needs to improve his strike rate, with the next BBL a possible tournament for him to show the improvements.

“There’s no doubt Babar has been asked to improve in some areas, particularly against spin and in terms of his strike rate. Those are aspects I know he’s working very hard on at the moment,” Hesson said at a press conference.

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“A player like Babar also has the opportunity to play in the BBL and showcase improvements in those areas of T20 cricket. He’s simply too good a player for us not to consider,” Hesson added.

Pak coach explains Asia Cup squad rationale

Later, taking to X and Instagram, Hesson explained the rationale behind the Pakistan squad picked for the Asia Cup. The New Zealander said that they have picked a “highly competitive squad” that includes experienced cricketers and fresh faces.

“We’ve put together what we believe is a highly competitive squad following the recent T20I series. Excited to see some fresh faces stepping up alongside our experienced senior players. A great blend of energy & experience for the Tri-Nation series & Asia Cup,” Hesson wrote on Instagram.

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Underlining the strategy to pick five pacers, Hesson said that Pakistan have a balanced squad for the tournament.

“Our squad features five front line seamers to adapt according to UAE conditions, along with two attacking mystery spinners. With depth in batting, much improved fielding side along with the bowlers mentioned above we overall have an excellent balanced squad.”

Pakistan’s squad for Asia Cup 2025: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.