Babar Azam misses out in former star batter's opening duo for World Cup

Former Pakistan cricketer Imran Nazir picked Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan as his opening duo of the Men in Green for the T20 World Cup 2024The marquee event is already underway in the USA and the West Indies Before Pakistans opening clash against the USA on June 6 in Texas there has been a lot of debate about the ideal opening pair for the Men in GreenSaim Ayubs struggle to find consistency in the opening slot has resulted in former players voicing their concerns over the opening duoFormer Pakistan Cricket Board PCB chairman Ramiz Raja has rooted for captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as the opening duo for the tournamentBut Nazir went for a surprise pick and batted for Zaman to open alongside Rizwan The former batter feels that the duo could put runs on the board in the powerplay which is an important factor in T20 cricketWe can only talk about the players from the 15man squad not those who are already out If I talk about Fakhar Zaman I think he is one of those batters for opening Nazir said while talking on Geo NewsIf you cannot set the tune of the match in the first six overs neither you can chase the target nor you can score a big total For a long time we have the same players opening the innings Saim Ayub got the chance but he could not do much I would go with Fakhar opening the innings alongside Rizwan and Babar would come at number three he addedOpening batter Ahmed Shehzad was in sync with Nazirs views of mustering up runs in the powerplay and feels that Usman Khan should come out to bat with RizwanI will agree with some of Imran bhais points because it is very important to have a good start in the first six overs Gone are the days when you used to play in the UAE where you would score 140 or 145 and defend the target because of your elite spin attack Shehzad saidAlso ReadT20 World Cup 2024 Team India yet to nail batting lineup for World CupIt is one thing to play a poor ball and time it perfectly everyone can do that But when you score boundaries on great balls then it affects the bowlers and the team So keeping everything in mind Rizwan should open alongside Usman Khan he addedShehzad went on to state the reason for putting Usman in the opening slot He refrained from putting Babar in the opening slot as it would leave the middle order vulnerableUsman Khan because if you have put him in the team then play him at his position He showed his potential in the last match against England If Babar comes as an opener then our middle order is already vulnerable who will stand there So he should come in at number three and try to take the game deep with a good strike rate Shehaz statedPakistan will kick off their campaign against the US on June 6 They will face archrival India on June 9 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium New YorkPakistans T20 World Cup 2024 squad Babar Azam c Abrar Ahmed Azam Khan Fakhar Zaman Haris Rauf Iftikhar Ahmed Imad Wasim Mohammad Abbas Afridi Mohammad Amir Mohammad Rizwan Naseem Shah Saim Ayub Shadab Khan Shaheen Shah Afridi Usman KhanWith agency inputs