By Dawn.com
Pakistan left out Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20 squad named on Sunday for the Asia Cup and a warm-up tri-series beginning this month against Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates, according to a press release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Azam and Rizwan have been star performers in the shortest format in the past, but have not played since December, which head coach Mike Hesson put down to other players performing well while addressing a press conference.
鈥淲e know what a fine player Babar (Azam) is,鈥 said Hesson.
鈥淏abar has been asked to improve in certain areas, like taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate, and he is working hard on these things.
鈥淭he players we have are performing well and having a positive impact,鈥 said Hesson.
Since Hesson took over as head coach in May, Pakistan have played three T20 series 鈥 winning 3-0 at home but losing 2-1 away to Bangladesh. They then beat the West Indies 2-1 in the United S