Mike Hesson: “He is a young player and needs to improve his batting in domestic cricket”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson has admitted big-hitting batsman Mohammad Haris needs to keep playing domestic cricket to further refine his batting skills.
Haris was part of Pakistan’s 2025 Asia Cup campaign before being removed from the national team altogether.
During the Asia Cup, the 24-year-old from Peshawar made 131 runs in seven matches, which included a top score of 66, at an average of 21.83 and a strike-rate of 133.67.
Although Haris has produced flashes of brilliance, his biggest challenge in Pakistan colours has been maintaining consistency when it comes to scoring runs.
“He is a young player and needs to improve his batting in domestic cricket,” Hesson was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Having lost his place in the team after the Asia Cup, Haris missed Pakistan’s home series against South Africa, ODI series against Sri Lanka, and T20I tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
He was instead featuring in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QeA Trophy), which is Pakistan’s first-class tournament, and struck 534 runs in nine matches for Peshawar Region, which included a hundred and four half-centuries, at an average of 38.14.
Pakistan will now tour Sri Lanka for a three-match T20I series that will be held in Dambulla from January 7 to 11.
Haris, however, did not make the cut for the upcoming series.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmad, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq