ICC T20 World Cup 2022: "Change Karne Ka Koi Question Nazar Aa Nahi Raha." - Mohammad Yousuf Backs Pair Of Babar Azam And Mohammad Rizwan Amid Criticism
Published - 12 Oct 2022, 03:02 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:14 AM
On Tuesday, Pakistan played New Zealand in a tri-series encounter and suffered a discouraging 9-wicket loss.
The Pakistani opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who have routinely played well for the side over the years, failed to perform effectively in the game with Babar Azam scoring 21 off 23 balls and Mohammad Rizwan being cheaply dismissed (16 off 17 balls).
The Kiwis completed the task of chasing down a meagre 131-run goal with 23 balls remaining thanks to a quick 62 from Finn Allen and an unbeaten 49 from Devon Conway.
Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner, and Michael Bracewell all contributed earlier in the game; the latter had figures of 2/11 in four overs while Ish Sodhi also took a wicket to keep Pakistan to 130/7.
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Mohammad Yousuf Rejects Idea Of Experimenting With Pair Of Babar Azam And Mohammad Rizwan
Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s batting coach, was questioned about if the team management was inclined to experiment with the positions, particularly at the top, after a bad batting performance. However, Yousuf rejected the idea.
“Ye 1.5-2 saal se ye hi pair chal raha hai. Ispe koi baat hui nahi hai, aur hone bhi nahi chahiye. World Cup kareeb hai, iss tarah ka chance lena mushkil hai. Pehle match me Rizwan man of the match tha, doosre match me Babar tha. Change karne ka koi question nazar aa nahi raha.
(We have this opening pair for the past 1.5-2 years. We never discussed about changing the pair, nor should such a discussion happen. World Cup is nearing, it’s difficult to take a chance now. Rizwan was player of the match in the first game, Babar in the second. Changing the pair is not an option),” said Yousuf.
“Jo management samajh rahi hai ki jiss tarah ka pair chal raha hai, vaise hi rahenge. Kyunki bilkul sar pe World Cup hai (The management feels this pair is working, and we will stick to it. Because World Cup has arrived),” he further said.
In the tri-series, Pakistan and New Zealand each have four points, while Bangladesh has two games remaining and is yet to score.
