Sanjay Manjrekar praised Pakistan’s decision to move Babar Azam to No. 3 and open with Saim Ayub alongside Mohammad Rizwan, suggesting that a left-right batting combination is more effective.
Pakistan’s top-order batsmen Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have established a strong T20I partnership, amassing 3252 runs from 69 innings with a notable average of 48.53, including 10 century and 15 half-century stands.
However, their performance in the first two matches of the ongoing World Cup was below par, leading to consecutive losses. Consequently, the team management decided to tweak the batting order for their third match against Canada, moving Babar to No. 3 and promoting Saim Ayub to open with Rizwan.
Although this change has not yielded immediate results, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes it is a positive move. He feels that a left-right opening combination could be more effective for Pakistan’s future matches.
“I’m glad they (Pakistan) have made a change in the batting order,” Manjrekar said on Stars Sports. “Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan can’t be opening together. Both of them were not really keen to strike early, so they put somebody else in at the top. Left-hand, right-hand combination is not such a bad thing. So some good things happening there,” Manjrekar said to Star Sports.
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In Pakistan’s T20 World Cup opener against the USA, Babar Azam scored 44 off 43 balls while Mohammad Rizwan managed just 9 off 8 balls. The pair added only 26 runs for the first wicket against India, resulting in a 6-run defeat in New York. With two losses in Group A, Pakistan faces a must-win match against Ireland on Sunday.
While Mohammad Amir’s form is improving, Pakistan’s batting remains a concern. Even if they overcome Ireland, progressing to the Super Eight will be challenging due to their current performance compared to other advancing teams.
“Batting is still a bit of a concern. Mohammad Amir is coming into his own. So I see them just being better than Ireland to win the game. But once they get into the Super Eight, that is going to be another sort of acid test for them because they are not looking as good as some of the other teams that have gone through,” Manjrekar concluded.
Last Updated on June 14, 2024
Senior Sports Copywriter