Shoaib Malik: “If Babar (Azam) and Mohammad (Rizwan) don’t have a role in a chase of 120 then when is their role?”
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Veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik has questioned the role of limited overs captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan after the men in green failed to beat India in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan were chasing 120 to win and failed to do so as they lost the match by six runs.
Malik noted that Azam and Rizwan didn’t need to do anything out of the ordinary and had a chance to silence their critics. However, the team’s loss has only given more ammunition to those who criticise them.
“If Babar (Azam) and Mohammad (Rizwan) don’t have a role in a chase of 120 then when is their role? This is common sense because they play conventional cricket. Everyone talks about their strike-rate so this was the ideal platform for them. It was such a big match that all their previous bad runs would have been washed away and they would have come out of it strongly,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam scored 122 runs in four T20 World Cup matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
As for Rizwan, he amassed 110 runs in four games, which included a top score of 53 not out, at an average of 36.66 and a strike-rate of 90.90.
Pakistan started the tournament with consecutive losses to the United States of America and India before bouncing back to triumph over Canada and Ireland.
Despite winning their last two group stage games, the men in green failed to qualify for the Super Eights.
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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