Babar Azam’s demotion, Shaheen Afridi dropped:Pakistan change game plan after defeat to India; Hesson says, ‘This is a strategic decision’

Pakistan faced a 61-run defeat against India in the T20 World Cup 2026 group match. After this, in a do-or-die match against Namibia, the Pakistan team dropped fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi from the playing eleven, while former captain Babar Azam was demoted in the batting order. During Ishan Kishan’s brilliant innings against India, Shaheen conceded 15 runs in his final over, while Babar Azam could only score 5 runs with the bat. These changes were being considered a ‘side effect’ of the loss to India, but team head coach Mike Hesson has dismissed these speculations. In his media interaction on Friday, he clarified that these decisions were not a reaction to any defeat, but were completely part of the team’s strategy. Reason for giving chance to Salman Mirza instead of Shaheen
On the question of dropping Shaheen Shah Afridi, coach Mike Hesson said, ‘I’’t would be wrong to say that he was left out due to poor performance. We believed that Salman Mirza deserved a chance, he was entitled to it. This decision was taken according to team’s requirements, not a major change.” Babar’s strike rate in powerplay is a concern
On moving Babar Azam down from opening, Hassan said, ‘’Babar himself knows that his strike rate in World Cup powerplay is less than 100. In T20 cricket, we don’t need such slow batting during powerplay. We need quick runs there.”
Hassan further explained, ‘’Babar is an excellent player for middle overs. If the team gets into trouble, like it happened against USA, Babar can stabilize the innings and increase the run rate after getting set. He was brought back to the team after the Asia Cup specifically for this role.” Why didn’t Babar come against Namibia?
In the match against Namibia, when Sahibzada Farhan scored an unbeaten century, Shadab Khan was sent to bat before Babar. Babar didn’t get a chance to bat in that match. On this, Hassan said, ‘’Around the 12th over when we needed to increase the run rate, Babar Azam wasn’t the most suitable player for that role. We have other options who can hit better in the final overs. Babar knows when the team needs his skills.” Pakistan could only score 114 runs against India in the match In the group match played against India at Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium, the entire Pakistan team could only score 114 runs losing 10 wickets in 17.6 overs. Pakistan won the toss and decided to field first. Batting first, India scored 175 runs losing 7 wickets. Pakistan to face New Zealand in Super-8
After the group stage challenges, Pakistan will now face New Zealand on Saturday in Colombo. This is their first match in the Super-8 round. Coach Hassan has clarified that the team’s main focus is now on scoring maximum runs in the powerplay. Spinners will play an important role on Colombo’s pitch, considering which Pakistan may make further changes to their strategy.