“Why was he selected in the team?” - Basit Ali slams Mike Hesson after Pakistan’s exit from T20 WC 2026

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has lashed out at the Pakistan team, led by Salman Ali Agha, for failing to make it to the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, which is currently underway in India and Sri Lanka.

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Despite defeating Sri Lanka by five runs in their third and last Super8 clash, Pakistan failed to advance to the semi-finals due to Net Run Rate (NRR). Eventually, England and New Zealand made it to the semis from Group 2, with Pakistan and Sri Lanka suffering elimination.

After being tasked to bat first, Pakistan's opening batters Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman stitched a 176-run stand for the first wicket. However, the visitors suffered a collapse later, losing eight wickets for 34 runs as they managed to post 212/8 in 20 overs.

“If Pakistan had scored 65 runs instead of 36 in those final overs, they wouldn’t have been eliminated from the semis,” Basit Ali said on his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, Basit Ali slammed the Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson for including Babar Azam in the squad despite being aware of his low strike rate, adding that he is well-suited in the top-order.

“He openly said that Babar lacks intent in the powerplay and his strike rate is so low. If he’s not suitable after 10 slow overs, then why was he selected in the team? Who picked him, and who’s going to hold the head coach accountable?” Basit questioned 

“I’ve said this on TV before — don’t bat Babar at number four, that spot just doesn’t suit him. You can’t even make that sacrifice — that the guy should come in at number three and score runs. So your intentions weren’t right,” he added.

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Additionally, the former Pakistan cricketer also questioned the reasons behind Usman Khan coming down the order despite showing good form against India. Moreover, he also reckoned that leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed wasn’t utilized properly in the showpiece event.

“He’s (Usman) just not a favourite, honestly. The truth is, he’s not favoured,” he stated.

“The England match we lost — Abrar wasn’t there. Today, Usman Tariq got hammered, but Abrar needed to be there. These are the things I never forget. When it comes to cricket, it’s my habit to make detailed notes — if I showed you, it’d fill pages,” he concluded.

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