{"id":21302,"date":"2025-10-27T18:22:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T18:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/27\/babar-azams-chance-to-answer-coachs-doubts-as-pakistan-face-south-africa-in-t20is-cricket-news\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T18:22:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T18:22:27","slug":"babar-azams-chance-to-answer-coachs-doubts-as-pakistan-face-south-africa-in-t20is-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/27\/babar-azams-chance-to-answer-coachs-doubts-as-pakistan-face-south-africa-in-t20is-cricket-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Babar Azam&#8217;s Chance To Answer Coach&#8217;s Doubts As Pakistan Face South Africa In T20Is | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"story-9662473\">\n<p><span class=\"jsx-395e0e0beb19cb6e jsx-4143937483\">Last Updated:<\/span><time class=\"jsx-395e0e0beb19cb6e jsx-4143937483\">October 27, 2025, 23:51 IST<\/time><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"asubttl-9662473\" class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-3315615733 asubttl-schema\">Babar Azam returns to Pakistan&#8217;s T20 squad against South Africa, aiming to surpass Rohit Sharma\u2019s record and address Mike Hesson\u2019s concerns about his strike rate and technique.<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-3315615733 amimg\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Babar Azam last played a T20I for Pakistan in December 2024 (PTI\/AP)\" title=\"Babar Azam last played a T20I for Pakistan in December 2024 (PTI\/AP)\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/ibnlive\/uploads\/2021\/07\/1627283897_news18_logo-1200x800.jpg?impolicy=website&amp;width=400&amp;height=225\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-3315615733\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Babar Azam last played a T20I for Pakistan in December 2024 (PTI\/AP)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"0\" class=\"story_para_0\">Babar Azam has a chance to address Pakistan coach Mike Hesson\u2019s queries about his technique and skills in Twenty20 cricket during three matches against South Africa starting Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p id=\"1\" class=\"story_para_1\">Babar, who needs just nine runs to surpass Rohit Sharma\u2019s record of 4,231 runs in men\u2019s T20 internationals, has not been included in the format since December. In his absence, Pakistan has played 26 T20Is.<\/p>\n<p id=\"2\" class=\"story_para_2\">Babar has scored 4,223 runs at an average of 39.83, but Hesson has expressed concerns about his strike rate of 129.22 and sought improvements in his technique.<\/p>\n<p id=\"3\" class=\"story_para_3\">Since taking over in July, Hesson has preferred Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, and Fakhar Zaman for the top three batting positions.<\/p>\n<p id=\"4\" class=\"story_para_4\">Without Babar, Pakistan won a home series against Bangladesh, then lost 2-1 in Bangladesh. Pakistan also secured a 2-1 victory against the West Indies and triumphed in the tri-series in the United Arab Emirates before losing three times to India in the Asia Cup.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Is Babar Azam Back?<\/h2>\n<p id=\"6\" class=\"story_para_6\">Fakhar Zaman\u2019s absence for the South Africa series has prompted Hesson to reinstate Babar at No. 3, a position where he has scored 1,166 runs in 35 T20Is at an average of 44.84.<\/p>\n<p id=\"7\" class=\"story_para_7\">According to Hesson, Zaman opted to play first-class cricket to prepare for the one-day international series against South Africa in Faisalabad next month, and the team management agreed to give the left-hander a break from T20Is.<\/p>\n<p id=\"8\" class=\"story_para_8\">\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity to get Babar back into the squad,&#8221; Hesson said. \u201cHe\u2019s likely to bat at three so it\u2019s a role that I\u2019m very confident that he\u2019ll be able to do well, and it also gives our squad some options coming into the World Cup.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"9\" class=\"story_para_9\">Babar has a strong fan base and received loud cheers in Lahore and Rawalpindi during the drawn Test series against South Africa. When Babar was out, many spectators left the stadiums.<\/p>\n<p id=\"10\" class=\"story_para_10\">Babar scored 131 runs in four Test innings against South Africa, falling to spinners three times. His highest score of 50 did not prevent Pakistan from suffering an eight-wicket loss at Rawalpindi in the second Test.<\/p>\n<p id=\"11\" class=\"story_para_11\"><em><strong>(With inputs from AP)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd atawrap\">\n<div class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd atadetailwrp\">\n<div class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd ataname\"><span class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd atthumb\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Ritayan Basu\" title=\"Ritayan Basu\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/ibnlive\/uploads\/?impolicy=website&amp;width=60&amp;height=60\" class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd attitle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/byline\/ritayan-basu-16281.html\" class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd atamail\">Ritayan Basu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin&#8230;<span class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd aurpdebtn\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin&#8230;<!-- --> <span class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd aurpdebtn\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-3315615733 atbtlink Location\"><span>Location :<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Rawalpindi, Pakistan<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-3315615733 atbtlink fp\"><span>First Published:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"rs\">\n<p>October 27, 2025, 23:49 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-3315615733 brdcrmb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/\">News<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/cricket\/\">cricket<\/a>  <span class=\"brdout\"> Babar Azam&#8217;s Chance To Answer Coach&#8217;s Doubts As Pakistan Face South Africa In T20Is<\/span><\/div>\n<div id=\"coral-wrap\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f \">\n<div class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f coral-cont\">\n<div class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f coltoptxt\">Disclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/disclaimer\/\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f\">Terms of Use<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/privacy_policy\/\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-3315615733 rmbtn news18_read_more\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/cricket\/babar-azams-chance-to-answer-coachs-doubts-as-pakistan-face-south-africa-in-t20is-ws-l-9662473.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last Updated:October 27, 2025, 23:51 IST Babar Azam returns to Pakistan&#8217;s T20 squad against South Africa, aiming to surpass Rohit Sharma\u2019s record and address Mike Hesson\u2019s concerns about his strike rate and technique. Babar Azam last played a T20I for Pakistan in December 2024 (PTI\/AP) Babar Azam has a chance to address Pakistan coach Mike&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}