Pakistan likely to go in with new opening pairing in New Zealand T20Is

Listen to Story Pakistan are gearing up for a change in their regular opening pair as the team management wants Muhammad Rizwan to open alongside young Saim Ayub over the established Babar Azam. Reports from Auckland suggest a shift in strategy, where Rizwan and Saim were seen facing new ball bowlers in practice, while Babar and Fakhar Zaman focused on spinners in separate nets.

Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan have formed a notably successful opening pair for Pakistan in T20 cricket since 2021. However, the newly appointed captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, along with the team's new high performance coach Yasir Arafat and team director Muhammad Hafeez, seem eager to explore fresh strategies against New Zealand in the upcoming five match series starting on January 12.

Notably, their unbeaten partnership of over 150 runs played a pivotal role in Pakistan's historic victory over India in the T20 World Cup in Dubai in 2021, marking Pakistan's first win against India in any World Cup game. Saim Ayub, aged 21, renowned for his aggressive batting style, has played 8 T20 internationals last year and recently made his Test debut.

The team management believes his pairing with Rizwan could provide Pakistan with quicker starts at the top. As a result, Babar Azam is set to bat at number three, followed by Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan, and Iftikhar Ahmed. Babar's acceptance of this shift reportedly came after discussions with Shaheen and Hafeez, considering his role now that he is no longer the captain in any format.

Despite these changes, Pakistan's T20 track record remains strong, having reached the final of the 2022 World T20 Cup and securing places in the Asia Cup T20 final and World T20 Cup semi finals in 2021..