Shahid Afridi: “I would like to see Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub open the batting in T20s”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan big-hitter Shahid Afridi said he “would like to see” Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub open the batting in T20Is.
Previously, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were the go-to openers, but their failure to score runs quickly made them the target of fierce criticism.
In the recent five-match T20I series against New Zealand, the men in green changed things up as Rizwan opened with Ayub.
However, considering that Zaman tends to bat a lot more aggressively than Rizwan, Afridi wants to see him opening the batting.
“The T20 [World] Cup is going to be a very tough tournament this year with some very strong teams in the hunt for the title. I also don’t think this is the time to make any changes in the format squad. We just need to continue with the same group of players and give them confidence. But yes I would like to see Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub open the batting in T20s,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Zaman is now playing for the Lahore Qalandars in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), while Ayub is representing the Peshawar Zalmi.
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 9: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Rassie van der Dussen, Haris Rauf, David Wiese, Sahibzada Farhan, Sikandar Raza, Abdullah Shafique, Zaman Khan, Mirza Tahir Baig, Mohammad Imran, Ahsan Hafeez, Dan Lawrence, Jahandad Khan, Syed Faridoun, Shai Hope, Kamran Ghulam, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Tayyab Abbas
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9: Babar Azam (captain), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Asif Ali, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Naveen-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Zeeshan, Mehran Mumtaz, Luke Wood, Sufiyan Muqeem, Waqar Salamkheil, Arshad Iqbal, Gus Atkinson, Shamar Joseph
No Baber or saim ayub ko openers ana chahye aik bar in do ko check kar Ka sakh la