Imam-ul-Haq: “There is no opener currently capable to meet the performances of the opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in T20”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan batsman Imam-ul-Haq has asked which opener is currently good enough to replace captain Babar Azam or Mohammad Rizwan at the top of the order in T20Is.
He noted that in his eyes, there are no worthy candidates at the moment as Azam and Rizwan have been scoring runs consistently and winning matches for Pakistan regularly.
The duo have been receiving a lot of heat for their low strike-rates in the shortest format, which their critics say puts pressure on the middle order to start hitting from ball one in order to boost the run rate.
However, Imam has come to Azam and Rizwan’s defence, saying they remain the best opening duo for the men in green in T20Is.
“There is no opener currently capable to meet the performances of the opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in T20,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
READ MORE: Mohammad Wasim said don’t even think about breaking up Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan
Azam will now captain the Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), while Rizwan will lead the Multan Sultans. Imam, meanwhile, has not been picked by any team.
PSL 8 will be held from February 13 to March 19 in Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.
The Sultans will play in the opening game against the Lahore Qalandars, while the Zalmi will take on the Karachi Kings on February 14.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 8: Babar Azam, Rovman Powell, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka), Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz, Arshad Iqbal, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Saim Ayub, Salman Irshad, Usman Qadir, Haseebullah Khan, Sufyan Muqeem, James Neesham, Khurram Shahzad, Haris Sohail and Richard Gleeson
Multan Sultans Squad for PSL 8: David Miller, Josh Little, Mohammad Rizwan, Khushdil Shah, Rilee Rossouw, Shan Masood, Akeal Hosein, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tim David, Anwar Ali, Sameen Gul, Sarwar Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Abbas Afridi, Ihsanullah, Adil Rashid, Arafat Minhas, Kieron Pollard, Amad Butt, Wayne Parnell and Izharulhaq Naveed
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