Former West Indies great Ian Bishop highlighted the necessity for Pakistan’s seasoned openers, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, “to shift another gear up in the way they approach their batting” as the T20 World Cup approaches. Bishop also argued for opportunities for younger players, such as Saim Ayub and Mohammad Harris.
During the T20I series against England, Pakistan’s management went back to their tried-and-true opening combination of Babar and Rizwan in the run-up to the World Cup. Bishop feels that despite their past achievements, which include multiple partnerships that broke records, a change is required.
Young Saim Ayub played as an opener in the T20I series against New Zealand earlier this year, albeit his performance was not quite satisfactory. At a 126.52 strike rate in 15 innings, Ayub scored 229 runs.
“If you ask me what I want versus what will happen to Pakistan, I will say that I need and hope that guys like Saim Ayub, who I know isn’t in the picture right now but is still a young man, will come through in the future. I don’t know if that will happen immediately. I believe they have returned home until T-20 cricket. Bishop told Star Sports, “But these guys are still very young and living the way.”
Ayub missed his opportunity to open in the second Twenty20 International against England, scoring just two runs off of seven balls. Resuming his opening role in the fourth Twenty20 International, Babar and Rizwan put up a 59-run partnership. Bishop noted that despite this, Babar and Rizwan must both quicken their scoring early in the innings in order to stay up with the changing demands of Twenty20 cricket.
Given Babar and Riwan’s experiences, it seems likely that they will return there. But once more, that’s a template that needs to be altered with those two players, who, based on what we’ve seen in T 20 cricket, need to step it up even more in their batting strategy, even on difficult surfaces during a World Cup, Bishop continued.
Pakistan’s T20 World Cup debut match takes place on June 6 at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, against the USA.