Pakistan's opening batter Mohammad Rizwan admitted that the recent change in team composition have negatively impacted their performance. Mohammad Rizwan's statement came after Pakistan's fourth consecutive T20I loss to New Zealand in Christchurch on Friday, January 19. A significant change in the team's recent restructuring was the split in Pakistan's highly successful opening duo, Rizwan and Babar Azam. This decision faced intense scrutiny within the cricket community.
Saim Ayub, who stepped in as Rizwan's new opening partner, has had disappointing performances at the top, with scores of 27, 1, 10, and 1. In defense of the team management's strategy, Rizwan explained that the team is experimenting with different line-ups in preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup, understanding that losses are part of the process.
Rizwan, on being asked about the split with Babar Azam after Pakistan's humiliating defeat against New Zealand in the fourth T20I said,"Yes, you can say the split has hurt us (Nuksaan hua hai). The team management and the captain talked to us (me and Babar). Mohammad Hafeez also talked to us. Babar bhai has a big heart. We both agreed on the decision of splitting the opening pair and said there is no issue. The whole nation thought we had a good thing (partnership) going at the top of the batting order.”
"But the management is working on the best that can be achieved from this team. Hafeez and Shaheen never said they we won't ever partner up at the top in future. They are trying different combinations and looking for the best," Rizwan added.
Former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja had earlier heavily criticised the decision to break up the effective opening partnership of Babar and Rizwan in the T20 format.
"So much pressure was created to break the opening pair of Babar and Rizwan. After breaking the opening partnership, which was evaluated based on the strike rate. When you bring in new players, they may perform well in leagues, but international cricket is a different beast where there is pressure, and the focus of the entire world is on you. You broke the opening pair that was famous worldwide," Raja had said.
Pakistan is currently in a state of lurch, trailing 0-4 in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The final match of the series will be played on January 21 in Christchurch.
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