Mohammad Hafeez: “He should bat at No. 3 in white-ball formats. No more experiment[s] [please]”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez believes Babar Azam should bat at number three in ODIs and T20Is, and doesn’t want any more experiments done.
Azam has scored plenty of runs over the years at the number three spot, but he has seemingly lost his place in the T20I squad as he wasn’t picked for the recent five-match series against New Zealand.
The 30-year-old did play in the three ODIs that followed, amassing 129 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 43.
In Hafeez’s opinion, there is no one else who should be batting at one down other than Azam in limited overs cricket.
“He should bat at No. 3 in white-ball formats. No more experiment[s] [please],” Hafeez said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
After the New Zealand tour, Azam captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and made 288 runs in 10 matches, which included three fifties, at an average of 36 and a strike-rate of 128.57.
Pakistan are now facing Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series, but Azam was overlooked for selection.
The men in green hold a 2-0 lead ahead of the 3rd T20I, which will take place on June 1 in Lahore.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub