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'I Wouldn't Agree...'- Ramiz Raja Opposes Separating Babar and Rizwan At The Top In T20Is

image-lrajpv64Babar Azam with Mohammad Rizwan [X.com]

Former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja believes that Pakistan shouldn't experiment much in the World Cup year and should not break the opening combination of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in T20Is.

Babar and Rizwan have been opening the batting for years now. However, ever since the emergence of the left-handed Saim Ayub, there have been reports that the duo had to be separated to accommodate the southpaw at the top of the order. 

In the first T20I of the five-match series against New Zealand, Ayub opened with Rizwan, forcing Babar to return to the number 3 spot. The move worked well in Auckland as all three of them fared well, especially Babar, who scored 57.

This decision was taken by the new team director, Mohammad Hafeez. However, it seems like the ex-PCB chairman is not too impressed with the move.

"I wouldn’t agree with the decision of splitting Babar and Rizwan. Pundits across the international fraternity take the name of Babar and Rizwan together as an opening pair. That’s because we have been consistent."

"If you are averaging 40-45 with a strike rate of 128-130, and you’re providing starts, and are fighting it out in the big games, I believe there’s not much to be gained by changing things up. You can’t go into a World Cup in an experimental stage, particularly if you don’t have options,"  said Ramiz Raja while speaking to CricWick.

Babar has proved his value in the middle order, which is his designated role in the longer formats of the game. The 29-year-old stands out as one of the premier batters with the capacity to act as an anchor while also possessing the ability to shift gears.

Even though Babar has succeeded as an opener for Pakistan, amassing over 2700 runs, including three centuries, his average is higher in the middle order. The right-handed batter has accumulated 690 runs as a middle-order batter at an impressive average of 49.29, in contrast to his average of 39.87 as an opener.

However, it's worth noting that his strike rate experiences a significant drop when he plays as a middle-order batter. Despite this, it appears that Pakistan is inclined to stick with the Saim-Rizwan combination at the top.