Babar Azam: “We don’t need experiments now, I and Rizwan will open the batting”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Babar Azam, who has been reappointed as Pakistan’s limited overs captain, had ruled out the possibility of him or Mohammad Rizwan relinquishing their spots as openers in T20Is during his previous tenure.
The duo enjoyed a lot of success at the top of the order in the shortest format and have been Pakistan’s most consistent run-scorers.
That said, they have come under heavy criticism for taking too long to score their runs, which results in more pressure being put on the middle order.
However, Azam didn’t want any changes made and preferred that he and Rizwan continued to be the go-to openers.
“We don’t need experiments now, I and Rizwan will open the batting,” he was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
Azam stepped down as captain after the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and was replaced by Shaheen Shah Afridi.
In the five-match T20I series against New Zealand in January 2024, which was Afridi’s debut as captain, Azam batted at number three as Saim Ayub took over his opening spot.
Now that he is back as white-ball captain, it is likely the 29-year-old will reclaim his place at the top of the order, especially since he didn’t like coming in at one down.
Azam recently led the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League and finished as the highest run-scorer with 569 runs in 11 matches, which included a century and five fifties, at an average of 56.90 and a strike-rate of 142.60.
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
[TS_Poll id=”124″]