Pakistan cricket controversy: Former captain Babar Azam and Rizwan unhappy with batting order rejig

Earlier this year when Pakistan faced New Zealand away from home Babar Azam who was the opener of the side before that was demoted down the order to number three. Pakistan lost the series 4-1. Mohammed Rizwan would blame breaking the opening pairing as one of the reasons behind the loss and he would say it has “hurt Pakistan.”

Rizwan also would go on to say “Babar bhai has a big heart,” at the time. However, Pakistan’s talisman during the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) would reveal that he “wasn’t satisfied” with the decision to bat down the order. “It was the Pakistan team’s demand at the time. I did that for Pakistan.” he would say to the reporters during a media interaction for PSL.

“If I was asked individually, I wasn’t satisfied with the decision to bat at one down position. However, I did that for Pakistan,” Babar said. He would also clarify that neither for Pakistan nor for his franchise side Peshawar Zalmi had he felt under pressure opening the batting in the T20 format.

Despite coming at number three Babar would be the second most run-getter in the series against New Zealand with 213 runs at an average of 42.60 and an impressive strike rate of 142.60. “We both agreed that there is no issue. We both told the management that they can try whatever combination they want,” Rizwan said after Pakistan lost the fourth T20I against New Zealand.

The former director of the Pakistan team, Muhammad Hafeez, and the new T20I captain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, had initiated the changes in the batting order.

Top run scorer of PSL

Opening as captain of Peshawar Zalmi Babar is the top runscorer in the ongoing PSL. He scored 498 runs at an average of 62.55 and a strike rate of 148.66 from nine games in the league.

The former skipper has not only been amongst the runs but also has been successful in helping in franchise side get into the playoffs of the tournament.

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