Younis Khan: “Both Fakhar and Saim should play in the middle or lower order”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan batsman Younis Khan believes Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman “should play in the middle or lower order” even though they are accustomed to opening the batting.
Ayub is one of Pakistan’s go-to openers in all three formats, while Zaman is set to make his international comeback but has batted as different positions throughout his career.
Both batsmen have explosive firepower and while Younis doesn’t want them opening the batting, he stopped short of saying who should.
“Both Fakhar and Saim should play in the middle or lower order,” he was quoted as saying by Samaa TV.
Pakistan recently toured Australia and won the ODI series 2-1 before suffering a 3-0 defeat in the T20Is.
They then went to Zimbabwe and secured a 2-1 victory in both the ODI and T20I series.
As for the tour of South Africa, the men in green lost the T20I series 2-0 before bouncing back to claim a 3-0 win in the ODIs.
In the two-Test series that followed, Pakistan were whitewashed 2-0.
They then returned home and faced the West Indies in a two-Test series in Multan, which ended as a 1-1 draw.
Pakistan will now play an ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa before taking part in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will be held from February 19 to March 9.
Ayub hasn’t been included in the squad since he is recovering from the ankle injury he sustained during the Test series against South Africa.
As for Zaman, he was recalled to the team after last having played international cricket at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan Squad for 2025 Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah