India, Aug. 17 -- In just 15 months, Babar Azam has gone from being reinstated as Pakistan's T20I captain for the World Cup in the West Indies to being completely overlooked in the format. After being left out of the series against Bangladesh and the West Indies, Babar-who not long ago was ranked No. 1 in T20Is by the ICC-faced a similar fate on Sunday when he was omitted from the 17-man squad for the upcoming Asia Cup.

Pakistan's white-ball head coach Mike Hesson broke his silence on the decision, revealing that the star batter has been asked to improve his strike rate, particularly against spinners. He further suggested that Babar could use the Big Bash League (BBL) as a pathway for his T20I comeback.

"There's no doubt Babar has been ...