Mohammad Rizwan criticized the decision to discontinue the initial pairing of him and Babar Azam. He scored 90 off 63 balls in the fourth T20I against New Zealand, but the team could only manage 158 in their 20 overs, which was easily chased by the Kiwis. However, former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir criticized Rizwan for saying that the decision to discontinue the Babar-Rizwan pair has hurt the Pakistan team.
Pakistan have not tasted victory since their ODI World Cup clash against New Zealand, which they won through the DLS method. They have played eight matches including one ODI, three Tests and four T20Is but have not been able to win a single game during this time. The fast bowlers have disappointed and the openers are also in poor form. However, Mohammad Rizwan struggled against the BlackCaps in the fourth T20I but it was a very slow knock in terms of the format.
Mohammad Rizwan scored only four runs in the last over and did not even try to find a boundary after playing 20 overs. Sikandar Bakht called him a “selfish player” for his knock against New Zealand. However, Rizwan criticized the fast bowlers for not being able to take wickets in the middle. Mohammad Amir has criticized Mohammad Rizwan for his statement that “he and Babar did not open the batting to the detriment of Pakistan”.
“Brother, you enjoyed four years and now it hurts you that young people don’t perform after only four games. Nothing can be concluded after four games. When you try different things, you have to give them some time and it is as simple as that,” Mohammad Amir said on Mohammad Rizwan’s statement about ‘breakup of Babar-Rizwan partnership hurts Pakistan’.
See: Mohammad Amir’s Tweet about Mohammad Rizwan’s statement
Bhai Jaan, I myself have been playing for 4 years but the failure of 4 matches has not hurt me much and I have tried different things, but it is very easy to give them time. #PakistanCricket
– Mohammad Amir (@iamamirofficial) January 20, 2024
Pakistan will now face New Zealand in the fifth and final T20 of the series on Sunday and the BlackCaps will look to sweep the Men in Green. The Pakistan team has not won a match since its World Cup clash against New Zealand. They lost 3-0 against Australia in the recently concluded Test series and have now lost four consecutive T20I matches against New Zealand. The Kiwis have put in a brilliant performance against Pakistan and will look to whitewash them 5-0 on Sunday when they meet at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Babar Azam has been in top form for Pakistan in this series after a shambolic performance against Australia in the red-ball format. He has smashed three consecutive half-centuries in the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand with a match to spare. However, the best player in this series has been New Zealand opener Finn Allen. He has smashed a half-century and a century, the century being a mammoth century in which he scored 137 off 62 balls smoking 16 sixes in his innings.