Mike Hesson: “Babar Azam is no doubt a world-class player, but during the Champions Trophy he was playing with a fear of failure”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Newly-appointed Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson has attributed Babar Azam’s struggles with the bat to the fact that he is “playing with a fear of failure”.
Hesson felt this was especially true during the 2025 Champions Trophy, where Azam struck 87 runs in two games, which included a top score of 64, at an average of 43.50.
He noted that the 30-year-old “is no doubt a world-class player”, but needs to relieve the pressure on his shoulders and bat with more freedom.
“Babar Azam is no doubt a world-class player, but during the Champions Trophy he was playing with a fear of failure,” Hesson, who is currently coaching Islamabad United in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), said on his YouTube channel as quoted by A Sports.
Following the Champions Trophy, Azam was involved in Pakistan’s limited overs tour of New Zealand and scored 129 runs in three ODIs, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
He is now captaining the Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL and has made 288 runs in 10 matches, which includes three half-centuries, at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
PSL 10 is set to end on May 25.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 10:
- Platinum: Babar Azam (captain), Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore
- Diamond: Corbin Bosch, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris
- Gold: Abdul Samad, Hussain Talat, Nahid Rana
- Silver: Arif Yaqoob, Najibullah Zadran, Max Bryant, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufiyan Muqeem
- Emerging: Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat
- Supplementary: Ahmed Daniyal, Alzarri Joseph