Ian Bishop: “They will open with Babar and Rizwan. but they need to change their template in T20 cricket. Babar and Rizwan will have to shift their gear as far as their batting approach is concerned”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former West Indies speedster Ian Bishop believes Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan need to “shift their gear” when batting in T20Is and score runs a lot quicker.
Rizwan is one of Pakistan’s go-to openers in the shortest format, while Azam has batted at the top of the order and at number three as of late.
If the men in green are to be successful in T20Is, Bishop noted that Rizwan and Azam have to lead from the front, which requires them to overhaul their approach to batting.
“They will open with Babar and Rizwan. but they need to change their template in T20 cricket. Babar and Rizwan will have to shift their gear as far as their batting approach is concerned,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
In the 2024 T20 World Cup, Rizwan finished with 110 runs in four matches at an average of 36.66 and a strike-rate of 90.90.
As for Azam, he amassed 122 runs in four games at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
The men in green lost their first two games to the United States of America and India before winning their next two against Canada and Ireland.
Despite having a 2-2 record, they failed to make it through to the Super Eights and saw their T20 World Cup campaign end in the group stage.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
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