Dawn
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16:34 Feb 20, 2026
Batting great Babar Azam was moved down the batting order for Pakistan’s final T20 World Cup group game against Namibia for scoring too slowly, said head coach Mike Hesson on Friday. Azam, who is the highest run-scorer in T20 international history with 4,571 runs, was moved down the order for the must-win game against Namibia as Pakistan racked up 199-3 and secured a place in the Super Eights by 102 runs. The 2009 champions face New Zealand in Colombo on Saturday in the opening match of the second phase. “I think Babar is well aware that his strike rate in the power play in the World Cup is less than 100 and that’s clearly not the role we think we need,” Hesson told reporters after Pakistan’s final practice session on Friday was washed out by rain. Pakistan left out Azam for the same reason at last year’s Asia Cup and even after a dismal showing in the Big Bash League, he was still selected for the T20 World Cup. “We brought Babar back in for a specific role post the Asia Cup,” said Hesson. “We’ve got plenty ...