After staying out of favour in the Twenty20 International format for Pakistan’s last five assignments, former skipper Babar Azam was picked for the upcoming three-match series against South Africa only after fellow batter Fakhar Zaman decided to skip it, white-ball head coach Mike Hesson said on Sunday.
Since Hesson took over the role in June, Babar hasn’t featured for Pakistan in T20Is with the national side playing series against Bangladesh, the West Indies and a tri-nation series followed by the Asia Cup during that period.
Hesson had cited the right-hander’s low strike-rate as the reason for his absence. But Babar’s selection for the series, which starts in Rawalpindi on Tuesday raised suggested a change of mind for the coach before the New Zealander clarified it.
“I certainly endorse his selection,” Hesson said of Babar while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Pakistan’s training session at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. “We’ve sent him (Fakhar) back to first-class cricket after a conversation with him.
“He wanted to focus on improving his technique for one-day cricket, so we gave him a bit of a break from T20s. That’s created an opportunity for another top-order player.”
Hesson confirmed that Babar will take the number three spot instead of the batter’s preferred opening position, where he flourished for Pakistan for a substantial period before eventually falling in form and then out of favour.
The coach, however, has expectations from Babar to make a strong comeback and suggested he saw him in Pakistan’s plans for the T20 World Cup, which is set to be held in February-March next year in India and Sri Lanka.
“It’s a great chance to have Babar back,” said the coach. “He’s likely to bat at number three, a role I’m confident he’ll perform well in.
“It also gives our squad some flexibility ahead of the [T20] World Cup.”
Babar’s unexpected return also coincided with the axing of wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Haris from the Pakistan squad even after he received ample backing from the team management across Hesson’s tenure so far.
The 24-year-old proved his mettle with a century against Bangladesh back in June but gradually lost form amid frequent change of batting positions.
Hesson believed Haris needed to go back to the drawing board to fix his issues.
“Haris has had a number of opportunities recently, and he’d be the first to admit he hasn’t made the most of them,” he said. “But he’s still young and developing, so I wouldn’t say his career is over.
“He needs to work on his decision-making with the bat. Even in domestic T20s, he averages around 17, similar to international cricket, so that’s an area for improvement.”
Haris has been replaced by Usman Khan — who last year gave up on a career in the United Arab Emirates to play for Pakistan before being eventually dropped. He emerged out of nowhere and Hesson said he sees the right-hander, who keeps wickets as well, as a good player of spin.
“We see our wicket-keeper batting more through the middle rather than at the top, especially with spin being such a big factor in Sri Lanka during the World Cup. That’s why Usman has been given this opportunity.”
A senior BJP leader and regional minister has said that two Australian cricketers who were inappropriately touched by a man last week during the Women’s World Cup would “learn a lesson” from the incident and stay cautious in the future, according to Indian media.
The incident in question took place in the central Indian city of Indore on Thursday morning when the two players left their hotel to go to a cafe, a day after Australia’s six-wicket victory over England in the group stage of the World Cup, when they were allegedly approached by a motorcyclist. The two players were not identified by Indian police or Cricket Australia, which confirmed the incident, and one man has been arrested in connection with the case.
NDTV reported on Sunday that senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya had stated that the incident was “a lesson for everyone.”
“Sometimes, players don’t realise their popularity. Players are very popular, so they should be careful,” Vijayvargiya said. “This incident has happened; it’s a lesson for everyone. It’s a lesson for us and for the players as well.”
“While there was a security lapse, it was also the players’ responsibility to inform local authorities before going out. They didn’t inform anyone, they didn’t tell anyone,” he said in remarks to the Indian publication.
“But they will learn a lesson from this incident and stay cautious in the future.”
The minister further said that “whenever any player goes anywhere, even when we go out, we always inform at least one local person.
“I think this will remind the players that in the future, if we leave our venue, we should inform our security or local administration before leaving, as there is a huge craze for cricket players,” he said.
Earlier, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotiya, told Indian news agency ANI that the security officers of the women’s Australian cricket team had filed a complaint that two members of the team faced inappropriate behaviour.
“A FIR (first information report) was registered, and the accused was identified and arrested following an intensive strategic operation,” Dandotiya said.
He has been charged under sections 74 and 78 of the criminal code that deal with assault or using criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty and stalking, respectively. “We are examining if there were any shortfalls in the security protocols,” Dandotiya added.
Violence against women remains a chronic issue in the world’s most populous country, where an average of nearly 90 rapes a day were reported in 2022.
Dandotiya said the 30-year-old man who was arrested has a criminal record.
Meanwhile, Cricket Australia said that the matter was reported by team security to police, who were handling the matter.
Board of Control for Cricket in India Secretary Devajit Saikia said it was a “deeply regrettable and isolated incident.
“We appreciate the swift and effective action taken by the Madhya Pradesh Police in apprehending the accused. The law will take its due course to ensure justice is served,” Saikia said.
“We will also review our existing safety protocols and strengthen them further, if necessary, to ensure such incidents are not repeated.”
The Times of India newspaper also reported earlier that the team’s security manager received a distress message from one of the cricketers that said “… there is a guy following us trying to grab us”.
Team officials were informed and went to their location to assist the players, the paper said. A police patrol then escorted the players safely back to the team’s hotel.