India, March 10 -- Pakistan's white-ball coach Mike Hesson has sought to cool the noise around the squad for the Bangladesh ODI series, insisting changes should be viewed less as a purge and more as a trial run for the next set of players. The explanation, however, comes against the backdrop of one unavoidable fact: former captain Babar Azam has been left out of the squad for the three-match series, alongside other established names, after Pakistan's underwhelming T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.

Speaking before the series, Hesson made it clear that he did not want the discussion framed as senior players being discarded. Instead, he presented the tour as a window to test younger options in a format Pakistan have not played enough in recent m...