Parthiv Patel: “Around the world, captains want to open the innings, but Babar prefers to play lower. When your captain does this, nothing can be achieved”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel believes Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam is avoiding opening the batting as he “prefers to play lower” down.
Azam used to open with Mohammad Rizwan in T20Is for a few years but lately, he has dropped down to the number three spot as Saim Ayub has taken his place as Pakistan’s go-to opener.
However, Patel wants the 29-year-old to return to the top of the order as “nothing can be achieved” if he stays at one down.
“Around the world, captains want to open the innings, but Babar prefers to play lower. When your captain does this, nothing can be achieved,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam recently captained Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup and finished with 122 runs in four matches at an average of 40.66 and a strike-rate of 101.66.
Pakistan lost to the United States of America and India before bouncing back to defeat Canada and Ireland.
Despite winning those two matches, the men in green were eliminated in the group stage of the competition.
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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