Mohammad Rizwan: “Babar Azam and I will open the batting if the team needs it and if [the] situation demands it. We will remain flexible in all situations”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan limited overs captain Mohammad Rizwan has not ruled out the possibility of reviving his opening partnership with Babar Azam.
The duo used to open the batting in T20Is and did extremely well together, even though they were consistently criticised for playing too slow.
However, Rizwan made it clear that he will only re-establish his partnership with Azam “if the team needs it and if [the] situation demands it”.
“Babar Azam and I will open the batting if the team needs it and if [the] situation demands it. We will remain flexible in all situations,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam and Rizwan were both in action in Pakistan’s white-ball series against Australia, with the former making 80 runs in three ODIs at an average of 80.
As for Rizwan, he finished with 74 runs at an average of 74 as the men in green defeated Australia 2-1, which gave them their first ODI series win in the country since 2002.
Following this, the two teams faced each other in a three-match T20I series, with Azam amassing 47 runs at an average of 15.66.
Rizwan featured in two games and mustered 16 runs at an average of eight as Pakistan were whitewashed 3-0.
Next up for the men in green will be a limited overs tour of Zimbabwe, where they will play three ODIs and three T20Is from November 24 to December 5.
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe T20I Series: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan
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