Mike Hesson: “Babar Azam is not being considered as a wicketkeeping option. There’s been a lot of chatter around this, but Babar is working to secure his place in the side as an opening batter”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson has ruled out any chance of batsman Babar Azam becoming a wicketkeeper in the T20I team.
His comments come after there was mounting speculation Azam was being asked to make the transition.
Hesson noted there is no truth in the rumours, stating the 31-year-old “is working to secure his place in the side as an opening batter”.
“Babar Azam is not being considered as a wicketkeeping option. There’s been a lot of chatter around this, but Babar is working to secure his place in the side as an opening batter. There has been no talk with Babar regarding the wicketkeeping role,” he was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Azam made his T20I comeback when Pakistan took on South Africa in a three-match series and scored 79 runs, which included a top score of 68, at an average of 39.50 and a strike-rate of 117.91.
His next T20I assignment was Pakistan’s T20I tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, where he amassed 127 runs in five games, which included a top score of 74, at an average of 31.75 and a strike-rate of 112.38.