PAK vs NZ: 'I will open with Mohammad Rizwan' Asserts Babar Azam
Babar Azam speaking ahead of 1st T20I vs New Zealand [Source: Twitter]
Pakistan clashes against New Zealand in a five-match T20I series starting today in Lahore. Hosts Pakistan will be led by their star-batter Babar Azam and see the return of players like Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf, who were rested from the Afghanistan T20I series last month, where they lost 1-2.
On the eve of the first T20I, Azam during his press conference spoke about Pakistan's opening slot, which is off-late and is a hotly-debated topic with the rise of younger players like Saim Ayub and Mohammad Haris.
As quoted by Indian Express, Pakistan's all-format skipper confirmed that he and Rizwan will open the batting, laying the rest down to any speculations going forward.
Here's what Azam said
“There is no such plan currently to experiment with the opening pair. We will continue with my opening partnership with Rizwan. “After that, we will decide which player is suitable for what number in the batting order. We will announce the playing XI for first T20I after practice tonight.
The good thing about these youngsters is that they aren’t worried about their batting positions. All they say is tell us the plan what is required for the betterment of the team,”
The T20Is will be followed by a five-match One-Day International (ODI) series, which begins on April 27.
 "Vishal Mehra")
