Former captain Babar Azam finds himself at a crossroads in his white-ball career after being left out of Pakistan's upcoming T20 assignments.
Babar and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan were excluded from the 17-member squad for a tri-series involving Afghanistan and the UAE, and the Asia Cup, both taking place in the Emirates.
Both veterans have not played a T20 International since facing South Africa last December, with team management preferring batters like Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan and others.
Pakistan have emphasised intent in the shortest format, which is why their two most prolific white-ball batters find themselves out of the side even though the team lacks experience in the batting department.
Coach Mike Hesson said Babar, who has scored 4,223 runs in T20Is at a strike rate of less than 130, must improve his game against spin, and also his scoring rate.
“There's no doubt Babar's been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate,” Hesson said.
“Those are things he's working really hard on. But at the moment, the players we have have done exceptionally well. Sahibzada Farhan has played six games and won three player-of-the-match awards.”
The Pakistan coach said Babar can still find his way back into the team if he makes a significant impact during the Big Bash T20 league later in the year in Australia.
“A player like Babar has an opportunity to play in the BBL and show he's improving in those areas in T20s. He's too good a player not to consider,” he said.
Pakistan will be led by all-rounder Salman Agha, who has a strike rate of 115. However, he bowls regularly in white-ball matches, which arguably makes up for the low strike rate.
For Babar and Rizwan, the writing appears to be on the wall. The Asia Cup is seen as an audition for the main event early next year – the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
The teams involved in the World Cup are likely to have finalised their core group by now, especially for the Asia Cup, which will be played in conditions fairly similar to those found in the subcontinent.
There was a view that Babar could still have been selected as he guarantees some runs almost every match, which could come in handy on possibly challenging surfaces in the UAE.
In the previous competition in the Emirates – the Champions Trophy earlier in the year – spin played a massive role and scoring rates were surprisingly low.
However, Pakistan appear to have decided to move on from Babar and Rizwan, even if it results in short-term pain.
What does not fit in this narrative, though, is the strike rates of other batters who have made the cut. Star batter Fakhar Zaman has a strike rate of 131 in T20Is while Farhan hits at 127. Captain Agha is closer to run a ball.
Only Hassan Nawaz (175) and Mohammad Haris (145) have strike rates that are significantly better than Babar and Rizwan (125).
That means the team management wants to take a chance with the next generation of batters who might flourish with the veterans out of the way.
Whether this plan works will be known soon. Pakistan face Afghanistan and UAE in a tri-series which will take place in Sharjah from August 29 and run until September 7. They will then shift their focus to the Asia Cup, which will be held in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from September 9 to 28.
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