Former Pakistan batsman Ramiz Raja has defended Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as the duo faces severe criticism for their strike rate in T20s.
Both the batsmen have been facing criticism for their strike rate for quite some time now and their performance in the ongoing T20 World Cup has only increased the pressure on them. They opened the innings in the first two games and Pakistan ended up losing both times.
For the third game, Saim Ayub replaced Babar Azam as opener and although he also did not perform well, Pakistan managed to win the game against Canada. In the first game against the United States, Rizwan scored 9 runs off 8 balls, while Babar scored 44 off 43. At one point, Babar was hitting 9 off 23 balls before picking up speed.
In the second match against India, neither of the two senior batsmen impressed again. Babar was out for 13 runs off 10 balls, while Rizwan managed to score 31 runs off 44 balls. Against Canada, both batsmen had a strike rate of 100. Rizwan scored 53 runs, while Babar scored 33 in the same number of balls.
Ramiz Raja defends Pakistan duo:
With Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan struggling with their scoring rate in the T20 World Cup, there have been calls from various quarters to drop them as openers. However, Ramiz Raja believes otherwise. The former cricketer-turned-commentator has opined that while Babar and Rizwan cannot “give you the strike rate of a Rohit or a Virat”, they give solidity to the top order.
“Looking at what Pakistan has, you can’t afford to start losing wickets. They may not give you the strike rate of a Rohit (Sharma) or a Virat (Kohli), but, you know, at least they give you solidity.
“And this Pakistan team, with the kind of batting line-up they have, has to play within what they have. So it is important that they start with Babar and Rizwan because it takes years to establish an initial and even partnership,” Raja told Cricbuzz.
Meanwhile, Pakistan stayed alive in the tournament by beating Canada in their last match. The Men in Green began their campaign with losses against the United States and India before opening their account with a victory over Canada. They will face Ireland in their last match of the group stage and need to win it to continue in the fight for the Super 8 stage.
