Mohammad Amir Shuns Babar Azam And Mohammad Rizwan To Pick Pakistan's New Opening Pair In T20Is
Former Pakistan seamer, Mohammad Amir, has suggested a reconstruction in Pakistan’s T20 International (T20I) opening pair. Amir shared his opinion on a local news channel expressing his preference for a change in the opening combination. Currently, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan open the innings for Pakistan in T20Is.
Mohammad Amir chose Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman to open the innings in T20Is. According to Amir, impact players should bat at the top of the order as the initial overs are crucial in T20s.
Mohammad Amir emphasized the need for impact players at the top of the order citing the significance of the initial overs in a T20 match. “I’ll pick Fakhar and Saim as openers, I won’t even keep Babar and Rizwan as openers. Because in T20, six overs of batting and six overs of bowling are extremely important,” Amir said.
Mohammad Amir Won’t Pick Babar Azam Or Mohammad Rizwan As Openers
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan both have had a terrific record as openers in T20 cricket. They were the flag-bearers in Pakistan’s victory against India in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. However, their strike rate becomes an issue as T20 cricket requires fast-paced action which is somehow a problem with Babar and Rizwan.
However, Fakhar Zaman’s strike rate in T20Is is almost equal to Babar Azam which again raises the same question. Babar Azam has over 3000 runs in the shortest format with a strike rate of 128 with 30 half-centuries and three centuries to his name. Whereas, Mohammad Rizwan has around 2800 runs in the format with a strike rate of 127.
Saim Ayub is very new to the international circuit with only eight T20I matches to his name. It will be difficult to change Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as T20I openers for Pakistan given the amount of talent and experience both these players possess.
