Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam who formed a formidable partnership with Mohammad Rizwan in the last two years is set to be demoted to no.3 spot to accommodate young talent Saim Ayub. As per reports from Auckland where the first T20I of the series will be played against New Zealand on January 12, Ayub will open the innings alongside Rizwan in an attempt to push the scoring rate.
Azam and Rizwan have been the most successful opening pair in the history of T20I cricket according to the statistics. They have combined to score 2,400 runs from 51 innings at an average of 48.97 including eight century-partnership and nine fifty-plus partnerships. Their highest partnership is of an unbeaten 203. Their other unbeaten partnership came in T20 World Cup 2021 guiding Pakistan to their first-ever World Cup win against India across formats.
Under the leadership of newly-appointed captain Shaheen Afridi, 21-year-old Karachi-born left-handed batter Ayub will open the innings. So far, he has scored 123 runs from seven T20I innings at an average of 17.57. His highest score of 49 came against Afghanistan on Sri Lankan soil. So far, he has opened the innings in T20Is thrice. Also, he batted four times at no.4.
On the other hand, Babar has opened the innings in T20Is and scored the majority of his runs there. But his record at no.3 is impressive as well. He has scored 690 runs from 19 innings at an average of 49.28 including six half-centuries.
Babar’s strike rate has been under the scanner. Many former cricketers have accused the former captain of not evolving in the format. However, his strike rate while batting at no.3 is slightly lower than the opening.
Also, Rizwan is unlikely to keep the stumps. After Azam, the no.4 spot is likely to be occupied by Fakhar Zaman followed by Azam Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed.
Pakistan have had a good record against New Zealand in the format with 20 wins from 34 games whereas one ended in no result. However, the last time Pakistan were in New Zealand, they lost the three-T20I series 1-2.
New Zealand T20I squad vs Pakistan: Kane Williamson (c) (except game 3), Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Devon Conway (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson (game 3 only), Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ben Sears (games 1 and 2), Lockie Ferguson (games 3, 4 and 5)
Pakistan T20I squad vs New Zealand: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Aamir Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan (wicket-keeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan
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