Babar Azam: “Rizwan said it’s my wish to play at four but we will have to keep the team’s requirements in mind and that’s how we will communicate with the players. This is a team where no player says I want to play at this specific number”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Babar Azam, the Pakistan cricket team captain, has seemingly denied wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan’s request to be promoted up the batting order in ODIs.
Rizwan had asked to be moved up to number four on the batting order from his current number five spot.
However, Azam pointed out that he has to keep “the team’s requirements in mind” before making any major decisions.
The 28-year-old also made it clear that no player can make demands to bat at a specific number.
“Rizwan said it’s my wish to play at four but we will have to keep the team’s requirements in mind and that’s how we will communicate with the players. This is a team where no player says I want to play at this specific number,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently captained Pakistan in their two-Test series against Sri Lanka and made 76 runs at an average of 25.33.
Rizwan, meanwhile, came on as a concussion substitute for Sarfaraz Ahmed in the second Test in Colombo and scored an unbeaten 50.
Pakistan won the first Test by four wickets and the second by an innings and 222 runs to claim a 2-0 series win.