Babar Azam to lose opening slot in upcoming T20Is against New Zealand: report
New Delhi: Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam is likely to lose his opening slot in the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand and Saim Ayub is likely to open with regular opener Mohammad Rizwan.
Reports from Auckland suggest a shift in strategy, with Rizwan and Saim facing new bowlers in practice, while Babar and Fakhar Zaman focused on spinners in separate nets.
Newly appointed captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and new high-performance coach Yasir Arafat and team director Muhammad Hafeez seem eager to experiment with new strategies in the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand. However, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been the successful openers for Pakistan since 2021.
It was the opening pair of Rizwan and Babar in the 2021 T20 World Cup that helped Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets in Dubai. That was Pakistan’s first win against India in the history of T20Is.
Now Babar Azam is likely to play at number three, followed by Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed.
Earlier, wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan was appointed as Pakistan’s vice-captain in T20Is ahead of the five-game tour of New Zealand starting January 12.
Rizwan will now team up with new captain Shaheen Shah Afridi in the leadership group of the T20I team as Pakistan, the winners of the 2009 T20 Men’s World Cup, are now building their preparation for the 2024 edition of the tournament, which takes place in the West Indies and the US. from June 1-29.
“It is an honor to be named vice-captain of the Pakistan T20I squad. I am grateful to the PCB for entrusting me with this responsibility. I look forward to working closely with the captain, coaching staff and my teammates to contribute to the team’s success,” Rizwan said in a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) statement.
The 31-year-old Rizwan has played in 85 T20Is since his debut in the format in 2015, amassing 2,797 runs, including one century and 25 half-centuries. Behind the stumps, Rizwan has taken 41 catches and 11 stumps.
Pakistani team: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain and wicketkeeper), Aamir Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan (wicketkeeper), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wicketkeeper), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan