Shoaib Akhtar: “Babar and Rizwan can’t both be in the team”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Pakistan pace bowling icon Shoaib Akhtar feels that having both Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the T20I team is not feasible.

Azam and Rizwan used to be Pakistan’s first-choice openers in the shortest format and regularly won games for the men in green as they consistently scored runs.

However, prior to the home series against South Africa, both of them were removed from the T20I squad – presumably due to their low strike-rates.

Azam returned to the T20 side in the series against the Proteas, but Rizwan continued to be overlooked.

Akhtar noted that moving forward, the men in green need to choose one of them to keep in the side.

“Babar and Rizwan can’t both be in the team,” Akhtar was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The series against South Africa started with two Tests, where Azam scored 131 runs, which included a top score of 50, at an average of 32.75.

Rizwan, meanwhile, accumulated 126 runs, which included a top score of 75, at an average of 31.50.

In the three T20Is, Azam struck 79 runs, which included a top score of 68, at an average of 39.50 and a strike-rate of 117.91.

Both Azam and Rizwan featured in the three-match ODI series, with the former making 45 runs at an average of 15.

As for Rizwan, he finished with 91 runs, which included a top score of 55, at an average of 45.50.

Pakistan will now take on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series from November 11 to 15, before joining a T20I tri-series with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe from November 17 to 29.

Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka ODI Series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha

Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq

Reserves: Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem

MORE PAKISTAN CRICKET NEWS: I was talking to Waqar Younis about him, Wasim Akram on Pakistan pace bowler with run-up issue

[TS_Poll id=”133″]