The saying in cricket and life “Why change something which dont requires any change” is becoming true and evident when we see the current plight of Pakistan cricket in T20Is as Team Pakistan backed on star wicket keeper batter, Mohammad Rizwan‘s 90 runs effort lost to New Zealand by seven wickets and now is on the verge of a series whitewash in a five match T20I series trailing 4-0 to the hosts New Zealand.
This loss once again raised the curtains of the issue that happened at the start of the series that in order to experiment before the World T20I event in the Caribbean and The United States of America in June 2024, the newly appointed Pakistan management under Team Director and Mentor Mohammad Hafeez decided to replace the ever successful Babar Azam –Mohammad Rizwan opening pair with adding young stylish left hander Saim Ayub as an opener which didnt augur well for the team as Saim failed big time in all the four matches of the series.
The Babar Azam- Mohammad Rizwan opening Combination in T20Is
Prolific Pakistani batter Babar Azam and wicket keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan had formed the most ideal and deadly combination at the top of the order in T20I International cricket since the World Cup of 2021 in Dubai. The duo Babar and Rizwan formed a lethal combination when Pakistan thrashed India in the T20I World Cup match by whopping 10 wickets as the duo scored the required 152 runs without any loss in the wicket granting Pakistan the only win in the World Cups across all formats over their arch rivals India.
Going forward, The duo formed the most prolific opening pair in T20I history, with 2400 runs at an average of almost 49 and holds the record for the top 5 best partnership stands for their side in T20Is with double century opening stands versus South Africa and England in the shortest format of the game.
However what ignited the need for change in the opening partnership was Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan though individually are strong performers seemed to are among the bottom feeders in scoring rates among T20I openers, causing the need for a reshuffle.
Babar has batted at No. 3 in the first three games of the New Zealand series, with youngster Saim Ayub partnering Rizwan at the top. After a quick-fire 33 off 14 deliveries in the opening T20I, the newly formed pair have struggled with partnerships in the remaining games causing Pakistan losses and with the series whitewash now looming this seems to have impeding impact on the minds of the players as well.
Wicket keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan has clearly described his frustration at the press conference of the match stating that dismantling his opening successful run with fellow batter Babar Azam will do no good to Pakistan cricket in future as it disturbs the flow and momentum of the team.
Me and Babar Azam agreed that there is no issue in splitting the opening pair- Mohammad Rizwan
Pakistan keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan admitted that breaking his and Babar Azam’s opening pairing ahead of the T20I series against New Zealand hurt them. The 31-year-old suggested that Pakistan didn’t have to change something that was already working.
Babar and Rizwan have arguably been the most solid opening pair for the Men in Green in T20Is, having shared over five 150+ stands in the format, with the highest being 203*. However, the management decided to demote the 29-year-old Babar to No. 3 to accommodate the young Saim Ayub. But it has not yielded the returns they would have liked over the first four matches.
Speaking at a presser after the fourth T20I, Rizwan said the duo were open to getting split as the opening pair and went with the management’s decision. As quoted by Cricket Pakistan, he said:
“You can say that it [breaking the opening pair] has hurt Pakistan. I can say that Babar bhai has a big heart. We both agreed that there is no issue [in splitting the opening pair]. We both told the management that they can try whatever combination they want. The difficulty arises when you break things that were already working well. However, management is looking at what can be extracted best from different combinations,”
After failing in the first three T20Is, Rizwan found his range in the fourth T20I against the Kiwis in Christchurch on Friday. He struck an unbeaten 90 off 63 balls to lead Pakistan to a competitive 159, but the hosts won by seven wickets.
Babar Azam falls cheaply after 3 consecutive half-centuries
Meanwhile, former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam could not lead the visitors to a win on Friday in Christchurch despite a promising start to his innings. The right-hander smashed a couple of boundaries and a six before perishing to Adam Milne for 19 off 11 deliveries. He had made 58, 66, and 57 in the first three games of the series, albeit in a losing cause.
New Zealand lost three wickets early in their pursuit of 160, but Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell shared an unbeaten 139-run partnership to help their side to a 4-0 lead.
With the series already lost and a threat of 5-0 series whitewash looming over, the Pakistan management now really had to think what went wrong in unsettling the already successful settled pair of openers in Babar and Rizwan and going further if they continue to experiment on the same what could be its repercussions on the performances of the team set to built for the marquee event in June 2024.