Mike Hesson: “There are areas where they can improve, and they are working on those”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson confirmed that batsmen Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have “areas where they can improve”.
He confirmed that the duo are already working on these weaknesses in order to become better players.
Hesson’s comments about Azam and Rizwan come at a time where questions have been raised about their future in T20I cricket.
The pair used to be Pakistan’s go-to openers in the shortest format, but they were consistently criticised for batting too slow and have now been overlooked for the last few T20I assignments.
Despite this, Hesson has already confirmed that they have a future in limited overs cricket, but need to work on certain areas of their game.
“There are areas where they can improve, and they are working on those,” he was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Azam recently played in the 2026 T20 World Cup, where he scored 91 runs in six matches at an average of 22.75 and a strike-rate of 112.34.
Rizwan, meanwhile, didn’t make the cut.
However, Rizwan was part of Pakistan’s squad for their three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, but Azam was left out.
In three games, Rizwan made 58 runs at an average of 19.33.
The duo are now taking part in the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL), with Azam captaining the Peshawar Zalmi and Rizwan leading Rawalpindiz.
So far, Azam has amassed 169 runs in three matches, which includes a top score of 87 not out, at an average of 84.50 and a strike-rate of 145.68.
As for Rizwan, he has accumulated 83 runs in five matches at an average of 16.60 and a strike-rate of 123.88.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 11: Babar Azam (captain), Sufiyan Muqeem, Abdul Samad, Ali Raza, Aaron Hardie, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Khalid Usman, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Subhan, James Vince, Michael Bracewell, Kusal Mendis, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Mirza Tahir Baig, Kashif Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani, Farhan Yousuf, Shoriful Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Brian Bennett
Rawalpindiz Squad for PSL 11: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Sam Billings, Jalat Khan, Yasir Khan, Naseem Shah, Rishad Hossain, Daryl Mitchell, Mohammad Amir, Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Dian Forrester, Laurie Evans, Asif Afridi, Kamran Ghulam, Fawad Ali, Mohammad Amir Khan, Shahzaib Khan, Cole McConchie, Saad Masood
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