“Improve Your Strike Rate or Sit Out!” – Pakistan Head Coach on Babar Azam’s Asia Cup Exclusion

In just over a year, Babar Azam has gone from leading Pakistan in a T20 World Cup to not even being part of the Asia Cup squad.

The 29-year-old, once ranked No. 1 in ICC’s T20I rankings, was once again ignored as Pakistan named their 17-man team for the tournament in the UAE.

Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson finally addressed the omission, making it clear that the decision was about strike rate and adaptability.

“There’s no doubt Babar has been asked to improve in some areas, particularly against spin and in terms of his strike rate. Those are aspects I know he’s working very hard on,” Hesson said at a press conference.

Hesson added that Babar still has a chance to make a comeback through franchise cricket.

“A player like Babar also has the opportunity to play in the BBL and showcase improvements in those areas of T20 cricket. He’s simply too good a player for us not to consider,” he explained.

Strike Rate Struggles Against Spin

Since January 2022, Babar’s strike rate against spinners in all T20s has been 122.91, the lowest among the top 20 batters to have faced at least 1000 deliveries. Mohammad Rizwan, who was also dropped for the Asia Cup, sits just above him at 123.35.

This slow scoring rate has been one of the main reasons Pakistan’s management has chosen to go with younger, more aggressive players like Saim Ayub and Hasan Nawaz.

Recent Form and Road Ahead

Babar last played a T20I in December 2024. In the 2025 Pakistan Super League, he showed glimpses of form with scores of 56 not out, 53 not out, and 94 for Peshawar Zalmi.

But in Pakistan’s ODI series against the West Indies earlier this year, he struggled with scores of 47, 0, and 9.

Pakistan’s Asia Cup campaign will run from September 9 to 28 in the UAE. Before that, the team led by Salman Ali Agha will play a T20I tri-series against Afghanistan and the UAE in Sharjah from August 29.