Babar Azam is set to make his T20I return and feature in the first match in the format since December 2024. Pakistan coach Mike Hesson had opened up on Babar's exclusion from the T20Is earlier, stating that he has been asked to improve in 'some areas'.
"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 at the moment," he had said in August. Meanwhile, the batter is now back in the squad with Fakhar Zaman rested as Pakistan seemingly did not fill the gaps in the Asia Cup 2025.
Meanwhile, Babar is eyeing a world record of former India captain Rohit Sharma on his T20I return. Babar is just nine runs away from becoming the highest run-scorer in the history of T20I cricket, the record currently held by Rohit. Babar has 4223 runs to his name in 121 innings, while the now T20I retired India star has 4231 runs in 151 outings.
Most runs in T20I cricket:
1 - Rohit Sharma: 4231 runs in 151 innings
2 - Babar Azam: 4223 runs in 121 innings
3 - Virat Kohli: 4188 runs in 117 innings
4 - Jos Buttler: 3869 runs in 132 innings
5 - Paul Stirling: 3710 runs in 150 innings
Mike Hesson reveals Babar's batting position
Meanwhile, the Pakistan coach Hesson revealed Babar's batting position for the T20I series, stating that he is likely to bat at No.3. "Azam is likely to bat at number three and it is a role that I am confident that he will be able to do well and give us some options coming into the World Cup," he said.
"Fakhar has been rested so that he returns fresh for the ODIs. We gave Mohammad Haris several opportunities, but he couldn’t make the most of them. He is a young player and needs to improve his batting in domestic cricket," Hesson remarked.
