Hesson explains the reason behind Babar’s exclusion from the Bangladesh ODI series

Pakistan, in the most Pakistan way possible, let the struggles in T20s be the driving force for their ODI selection calls. Babar Azam, who scored an unbeaten century in his last ODI series in November, will not be part of the side touring Bangladesh for a three-match one-day series.

Not ‘dropped’

Pakistan’s selection committee did not speak on why the right-handed batter was dropped, but his prolonged lean patch, which saw him getting low returns during the T20 World Cup, was widely understood to be the reason behind the decision. However, Pakistan’s head coach Mike Hesson claims Babar was only excluded to give youngsters a shot at proving themselves.

"I don't think anyone particularly was dropped," Hesson said.

"I think it's a great opportunity for us to look at some younger talent. We get very few opportunities in the calendar to give a number of promising players opportunities. You are either heading into a pinnacle or just leading into it.”

“So it depends how many players debut here. There's a lot of players that have been around the circuit for a while and been waiting for this opportunity," he further said.

Young players given the opportunity

Pakistan did include a handful of youngsters in their squad that includes players who have done well in the U-19 ODI World Cup or the Asia Cup preceding it. The contingent includes Faisal Akram, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Ghazi Ghori, Saad Masood, and Shamyl Hussain.

He also hinted at the importance of doing well in domestic cricket to make a case for oneself. Shamyl Hussain, who earned his maiden call-up for the series, comes off a stellar domestic season. Hesson also cited Sahibzada Farhan’s example.

The opening batter ended the World Cup as the highest run-scorer and initially knocked at the selection door with his dominant domestic run.

"Someone like Sahibzada Farhan, who's obviously forced his case through how well he's done in the T20 World Cup. But he's also done very well domestically when he's been able to play 50-over cricket. Shamyl Hussain is an exciting talent.”

“He was the highest run-scorer in first-class cricket. He was exceptional in List A. He's done well for the Shaheens," he said.

"Maaz Sadaqat has been on the fringes for a while. So these are names that, you know, you haven't been able to see and it's an opportunity for them to show how good they are in this series," he concluded.

Pakistan will begin the ODI series on March 11 at Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, where all three matches will be played.

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