Mike Hesson: “He offers a contrast to our batting group. We’ve got plenty of stroke-makers, and Babar provides the glue that holds everything together”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson believes batsman Babar Azam “provides the glue that holds everything together”.
Azam has been in excellent form recently, showing signs of a return to his best after a prolonged lean patch that saw his runs dry up and cost him his place in the T20I side.
During the recent 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL), the 31-year-old not only captained the Peshawar Zalmi to the title, but also finished as the tournament’s top run-scorer with 588 runs in 11 games, which included two centuries and three fifties, at an average of 73.50 and a strike-rate of 145.90.
“He offers a contrast to our batting group. We’ve got plenty of stroke-makers, and Babar provides the glue that holds everything together,” Hesson was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
Azam is now representing Pakistan in their two-Test series against Bangladesh, but missed the 1st Test in Mirpur due to a left knee injury.
He returned for the ongoing 2nd Test in Sylhet and scored 68 runs in the first innings.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi