PAK vs SL: Aakash Chopra Highlights Pakistan's Middle Order Woes At No. 4 Position In 50-Over Format In Last Four Years

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra discussed the underwhelming performances of Pakistan’s middle-order batters in the 50-over format over the past few years. Aakash Chopra emphasized that none of the Pakistani batters have scored a century in the No. 4 position since 2019.

The Babar Azam-led team will take on the Dasun Shanaka-led team in their final Super Four stage match at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday, September 14. The winner of the match will advance to the final of the Asia Cup 2023 at the same venue on September 17.

Only Two Batters Have Scored Half-Centuries – Aakash Chopra

“In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra mentioned several players have occupied the No. 4 position in recent years. Chopra also said that the batters have struggled to score half-centuries at the same position.

“We need to talk about Pakistan and their No. 4 woes. There hasn’t been even a single Pakistan batter who has scored a century since 2019 at No. 4. Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Sohail, Haider Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Agha Salman, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shan Masood and Saud Shakeel, who has now come back, are part of that list,” Chopra said.

It’s Not A Great Story – Aakash Chopra

The former Indian opener pointed out that Mohammad Rizwan didn’t have impressive numbers despite playing the most innings at No. 4 during this period.

“If we see in terms of average, Haris Sohail has a good average of 55. The rest of them have played very few innings. The majority of the innings are with Rizwan, who has scored seven half-centuries at an average of nearly 37 and a strike rate of 85. It’s not a great story,” he further added.

The Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter has scored 974 runs in 28 innings at an average of 40.58 while batting at No. 4. The right-handed batter has been unable to reach a three-figure score since March 2019, despite achieving two centuries at this position.

That Is A Potential Problem – Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra expressed his concern about Pakistan’s No. 4 batters, highlighting their underperformance despite playing on flat pitches. Chopra emphasized that Pakistan needs to address this potential problem before the ODI World Cup 2023.

“None of the other Test-playing nations have any such story that it has been four years and none of their No. 4 batters have scored a century. It has not been scored for them (Pakistan) although they play on good pitches. So Pakistan, think about it, that is a potential problem.”

The Men in Green made two changes to their batting lineup for the upcoming match against Sri Lanka. Mohammad Haris and Saud Shakeel replaced Fakhar Zaman and Agha Salman in their playing XI. Salman has been ruled out of the game due to a nose injury.

Also read: IND vs BAN: Aakash Chopra Lauds Kuldeep Yadav For His Brilliant Bowling Performances Against Pakistan And Sri Lanka In Asia Cup 2023