Mohammad Wasim: “Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan’s consistent run-scoring was a major advantage for the Pakistan cricket team; the opening partnership of Babar and Rizwan shouldn’t have been tampered with, injustice has been done to both of them”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former chief selector Mohammad Wasim has claimed that Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were the victims of injustice after losing their places as Pakistan’s regular T20I opening pair.
The duo were once Pakistan’s most reliable opening combination in the shortest format, consistently providing solid starts and anchoring innings with their steady run-scoring.
However, they were later moved down the order, with critics pointing to their comparatively lower strike-rates as the main reason for the change.
Wasim, however, believes the decision to break up the partnership was misguided, emphasising that the pair’s chemistry and record at the top were key in many of Pakistan’s T20I wins.
“Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan’s consistent run-scoring was a major advantage for the Pakistan cricket team; the opening partnership of Babar and Rizwan shouldn’t have been tampered with, injustice has been done to both of them,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Arfa Feroz Zake on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam is currently playing for Pakistan in the 2026 T20 World Cup, where he has made 66 runs in four matches at an average of 22 and a strike-rate of 115.78.
Rizwan, meanwhile, hasn’t been included in Pakistan’s T20I squad for quite some time and continued to be overlooked by the selectors for the T20 World Cup.
The men in green have made it through to the Super Eights after beating the Netherlands, United States of America and Namibia in the group stage. They have only lost one game so far, which was against India.
Pakistan’s first game in the Super Eights will be against New Zealand on February 21 in Colombo.
Pakistan Squad for 2026 T20 World Cup: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq