Pakistan has flown to New Zealand for a five-match Twenty20 International series following a 3-0 series loss to Australia. The Shaheen Shah Afridi-captained team intends to change the batting order’s permutation and combination prior to the upcoming T20 World Cup. As a result, the series with the Kiwis has undergone some adjustments. To honor Mohammad Rizwan and Saim Ayub at the top of the order, Babar Azam is reportedly expected to bat in the middle order.
Though the Men in Green have historically lacked quality in that area, the current management would rather give the former captain a new role to anchor the middle order, despite the praiseworthy work that Babar and Rizwan have done as an opening pair. Then, Babar will bat at number four and Fakhar Zaman at number three in the lineup.
With the T20 World Cup in mind, Pakistan is attempting this new experiment. In their quest to complete the task and win the trophy this time around, the 2009 winners will benefit from the favorable conditions in the USA and the West Indies. They advanced to the competition’s finals in Australia in 2022, but England defeated them on the night of the finals.
Middle-order player Babar Azam will likely play with Saim Ayub as his new opening partner.
Saim Ayub, a youthful player, has been trusted with the burden at the top of the order, though, because he has shown himself to be a hard-hitting opener. The scoreboard will continue to run because Rizwan, who often takes some time to calm down, will have a partner who can hit well. The latest adjustments may be seen as a response to the indignation expressed by spectators and former players towards Pakistan for their low run rate in the shortest format, for which they were heavily criticized previously.
Pakistan may return to starting with Babar and Rizwan if the experiment fails in the forthcoming series against New Zealand. In that instance, there might be plenty of answers provided by the next Pakistan Super League season.
Home