Babar will now likely bat at number three, followed by Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, and Fakhar Zaman—a hard-hitting southpaw who also opens games.
Muhammad Rizwan is slated to partner with Saim Ayub in the T20 series against New Zealand, replacing Babar Azam as Pakistan’s opening partnership. Auckland-based reports state that the team management opted to bat Rizwan and Saim against new ball bowlers in the nets, while Babar and Fakhar Zaman took their wickets mostly against spinners in the other net. Pakistan’s T20 captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, new high performance coach Yasir Arafat, and team director Muhammad Hafeez are reportedly eager to try something different against New Zealand in the five-match series that starts on January 12. Babar and Rizwan have opened fairly successfully for Pakistan since 2021.
For the first time in a World Cup match, Pakistan defeated India in the T20 World Cup in Dubai in 2021 thanks to their partnership of more than 150 runs without a loss.
The management of the squad feels that Saim, who is 21 years old, and Rizwan can get the team off to a quicker start. Saim played eight Twenty20 internationals in 2018 and made his Test debut in Sydney earlier this month. He is known for his powerful hitting style of batting.
It is currently anticipated that Babar would bat at number three, with Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, and Fakhar Zaman—a hard-hitting southpaw who also opens—following.
Team insiders revealed that after speaking with Shaheen and Hafeez, Babar—who is no longer captain in any format—agreed to bat one down.In the T20 format, Pakistan has typically performed well. They qualified for the 2022 World T20 Cup final, the Asia Cup T20 format final, and the World T20 Cup semi-finals in 2021.
