Sharjeel Khan: “It is not easy to replace openers who are representing Pakistan, so i started my process and prepared myself to bat in the middle order”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan batsman Sharjeel Khan has revealed he is reinventing himself as a middle order batsman, acknowledging that displacing the current openers would be difficult.
Irfan Pathan: “I am myself a big [critic] of Babar Azam, but the boys who have been playing here in [the] middle overs, Babar is better than them”
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Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan considers Babar Azam to be a better middle order batsman than those presently in the Pakistan T20I squad.
Wasim Akram: “I would like to see Rizwan as a middle order batter and maybe ask Babar to open the innings. Babar has a brilliant technique. If he plays 50 overs and scores a hundred, the batting will revolve around him”
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Legendary Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Wasim Akram believes Babar Azam should open the batting in ODIs, while ODI captain Mohammad Rizwan should play in the middle order.
Yasir Hameed: “Kamran Ghulam is [an] important player in the middle order”
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Former Pakistan cricketer Yasir Hameed said batsman Kamran Ghulam has become “[an] important player in the middle order”.
Mike Hesson: “He’s at a stage in his career where he needs a big season and I know he’s highly motivated to do that”
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Islamabad United head coach Mike Hesson has admitted that wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan “needs a big season” after failing to fire as of late.
Pakistan batsman Sahibzada Farhan: “My favorite position is opening because I have always played at that spot. I have delivered performances as an opener in domestic cricket and changes in batting positions can be disruptive”
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Pakistan batsman Sahibzada Farhan has confirmed that he wants to open the batting and admitted he finds it “disruptive” to keep changing where he bats.
Pakistan batsman Irfan Khan: “As a middle order batter, I am looking to cement my place in the side and I am targeting the Champions Trophy”
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Pakistan middle order batsman Irfan Khan is determined to cement his place in the national team and is aiming to put this plan into action during the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Kamran Akmal: “Nobody will talk [about] Iftikhar Ahmed’s statement about the middle order batter. If the same thing had been done by Umar Akmal, then it would have been taken against him”
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Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal believes his brother Umar would have been absolutely bashed if he had called himself a tailender instead of a middle order batsman like Iftikhar Ahmed did.
Pakistan batsman Mohammad Haris: “I don’t want to be dependent on batting positions. I want to have flexibility in my batting. I have opened and batted in late middle order as well”
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Pakistan batsman Mohammad Haris said he wants to be a flexible player and isn’t interested in having a fixed batting position.
Pakistan batsman Iftikhar Ahmed: “I am not a middle order batter, I am a lower order batter. I am not an all-rounder, I am a tailender. If you see, I bat at No. 7 or 8. And if you look at the all-rounders and middle order batters around the world, you’d see they bat at No. 4 or 5”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan big-hitter Iftikhar Ahmed has surprisingly said that he considers himself to be a tailender rather than a middle order batsman.
