Azhar Ali: “Babar Azam and Saim Ayub should open the innings for Pakistan in T20I cricket”
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Former Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali believes limited overs captain Babar Azam and Saim Ayub should be the go-to openers for the national team in T20Is.
Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had opened the batting for a couple of years before the five-match T20I series against New Zealand in January 2024, where Azam was moved down to number three and Ayub took over his opening spot.
The 29-year-old expressed his disappointment at losing his place as an opener, but said he did it for the team.
Azhar, though, feels that Azam should regain his spot as an opening batsman and Rizwan should be pushed down the order.
“Babar Azam and Saim Ayub should open the innings for Pakistan in T20I cricket,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam recently captained the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) 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.
Ayub also represented the Zalmi and made 345 runs in 11 games, which included two fifties, at an average of 31.36 and a strike-rate of 157.53.
Rizwan, meanwhile, was in charge of the Multan Sultans and concluded PSL 9 as the third-highest run-scorer with 407 runs in 12 games, which included four fifties, at an average of 33.91 and a strike-rate of 122.22.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will be held in Rawalpindi and Lahore from April 18 to 27.
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
Multan Sultans Squad for PSL 9: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Iftikhar Ahmed, David Willey, Khushdil Shah, Usama Mir, Dawid Malan, Abbas Afridi, Reeza Hendricks, Tayyab Tahir, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Khan, Mohammad Ali, Faisal Akram, Yasir Khan, Chris Jordan, Aftab Ibrahim, Johnson Charles, Mohammad Shehzad