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Can Pakistan afford to open the batting with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan?

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Babar_Azam_fan

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Can Pakistan have Rizwan as an opener?, YES, a very good option
Can Pakistan have Babar as an opener?, YES, a very good option
Can Pakistan have Rizwan and Babar as openers?, a very big NOOO

Lot of people are not understanding what’s going on off late

In NZ, Babar didn’t play
In these two matches, Babar didn’t play more than 5 balls combined in two matches.

So, in New Zealand and here, Rizwan was actually playing with an aggressive partner. Haider was at the other end helping Rizwan by scoring 2-3 boundaries, so it didn’t look that bad


Imagine if both Babar and Rizwan play in the PP together.

Assuming both share equal number of balls (15 each)

Rizwan will be 17*(15)
Babar will be 20*(15)

So, by the end of PP, the score will be 37-0, may be 37-1, if one of them gets out.

So, the match will be over before it even gets to the 7th over.

When you’re chasing the score it’ll be much worse, as they’ve to go hard from the ball one, and we know neither are capable of it.

Chasing 190, Pakistan will be 40-3, with Babar, Rizwan and Haider all back in the pavilion

Pakistan management and Babar should think about it asap. Babar is not moving from the opening position, so it’s just right to take a harsh call and do injustice to Rizwan which is justifiable and move him from the opening spot.
 
This is what I’ll go with


Sharjeel
Babar *
Haider
Hafeez
Danish/ Malik
Faheem
Rizwan/ Azam +
Imad
Shadab
Hasan/ Wahab
Shaheen
 
Best case is to bring in Sharjeel and demote one to 3. That is the only situation I see which makes sense for the team and all the players involved.
 
If it ain't broken then don't go fixing it.

As per your argument both Babar and Rizwan are suited at top of the order so let it be why try to fix something that ain't broken. For every other Sharjeel, Fakhar, Imam, etc let them pile runs in PSL and knock hard on selectors doors first.
 
Don't agree. In fact I think the team management planned well.

Two fantastic batsmen who can both pick up the scoring rate opening the innings

Followed by Haider Ali, a hard hitting batsmen. Then an accumulator in Talat, then supposed hitters again in Ifthikar, Khushdil and Faheem.

Unfortunately, absolutely no one has been able to get going other than Rizwan. The batting failure is because the middle order has been a total flop, not because Babar and Rizwan aren't playing fast enough.

This opening pair has a ton of potential, could be the best LOI batting pair in the world
 
In the long run, no but I believe they should play out with this opening combo because 1) to try and win the series as too much chopping and changing will just put too much pressure to the new player(s) playing as it is a series decider 2) to give a proper chance for Rizwan the opener as he is scoring runs here (how he begins his innings being a different topic altogether). Moving forward, as much as a lot of folks don't like him but someone like a Sharjeel open with Rizwan and then Babar at three could be the ideal way to go (Babar is an established opener in the team, but you'd rather have Babar at 3 then Riz).
 
Let them have a proper chance together. We've not had an opener who can score runs apart from Babar for the last 2 yrs in T20s with Fakhar woefully out of form.

If Rizwan is playing so well, why wouldn't you give him a run? And in the last 2 matches, Rizwan has been the least of our problems. It's obviously tough when the rest of the team isn't contributing.

Babar and Rizwan are only amongst the select few Pakistani players who we've seen improve their skills. What's there to say that these two can't keep improving and be a solid and successful opening pair for us in T20s?
 
There are a lot of things that Pakistan cannot afford, but as a deeply mediocre team with very little talent, we have to make do with what we have.

Babar and Rizwan combo is not ideal but it is the best we can have at the moment. They are the two best batsman in the team and it is better to give them maximum overs.
 
Sharjeel is a must to open with Babar regardless of how gritty Rizwan can be. Rizwan can come at 3 but he is no genuine opener.
 
Play Azam Khan as a specialist batsman.

Babar
Sharjeel
Rizwan
Hafeez
Shadab
Azam
Faheem
Imad
Hassan
Usman
Shaheen

Another option would be to drop Hassan and play a batsmen like Danish.
 
Babar and the team management have already realised that they can’t open with Rizwan and Babar
 
I would keep Rizwan as a opener, and bring in Babar at #3. Hopefully someone in PSL can establish them as an option for the other opening slot.
 
Gharib Aadmi said:
I would keep Rizwan as a opener, and bring in Babar at #3. Hopefully someone in PSL can establish them as an option for the other opening slot.
Click to expand...


Zeeshan Malik
Fakhar/ Sharjeel/ Rizwan Hussain

Sohaib Maqsood is still better than likes of Khushdil, Talat, Iftikhar.

More importantly, we need Amir Yamin and Amad Butt to have a good PSL.
 
last_knight said:
Zeeshan Malik
Fakhar/ Sharjeel/ Rizwan Hussain

Sohaib Maqsood is still better than likes of Khushdil, Talat, Iftikhar.

More importantly, we need Amir Yamin and Amad Butt to have a good PSL.
Click to expand...

Am a fan of Amad so i am hoping he does good.

We also need to hope Ifthikhar has a bad PSL. I never want to see him play for Pakistan again.
 
Opening with Babar and Rizwan will be a really bad idea. Looks like Sharjeel, Fakhar and Haider putting up a show
 
Rizwan is a Ben Foakes type of player & he wouldn’t get into eng 2nd xi in odis.

Playing Rizwan baba Malik Hafeez in the same team would be suicidal, need hacks of the highest order

Sharjeel
Fakhar
Baba
Haider

Even these guys would struggle to get out of the group stages in the World Cup!!
 
Sharjeel
Rizwan
Babar
Hafeez
Fakhar
Haider
Faheem
Imad
Hassan
Shadab
Shaheen

So batting till #10
 
Fakhar
Sharjeel
Babar *
Hafeez (6th bowler)
Rizwan +
Haider
Faheem
Hassan
Nawaz
Shadab / Usman / Haris
Shaheen


Batting till #10 and 6 bowlers.
 
Babar and Rizwan as openers are fine. Actually the team that Pakistan played in the first T20 yesterday was very good, with very good batting order. Only issue is that they are playing with 6 specialist bowlers/bowling all-rounders. They just need to get that combination right and need to have a batsman or batting all-rounder at no. 6. Everything else is fine.
 
Don't understand the fascination with Sharjeel.

He's a bad ball hack - at the highest level you shouldn't be preparing for bad bowling but instead looking for scoring solutions from good bowling.

Fakhar cashed in during the ODIs (and I love him!) but let's be honest he's a limited player that thrives on width, slogging and singles off the hip; luckily his temperament is better than his range of shots which is seemingly why he has been able to apply himself and ensure that he's using the right shot at the right time.
 
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Don't understand these two opening the batting (in PP) when you're chasing 200+, when Fakhar is in the playing 11
 
At the end of the powerplay:

SA 65/0
PAK 64/0

Babar 34* (18)
Rizwan 29* (18)
 
This is easily the best combination we have. Pakistani fans need to understand that. Fakhar at 3 is fine
 
if we had so many options like say india and england then fair enough you can afford someone with a bit more muscle, but who do we have asif ali?? :)) Rizwan and babar are currently our best batsmen
 
These 2 are just in unreal form today. What a partnership this is.
 
197 - The 4th highest T20I opening partnership in history.
 
There will be times when it doesn't work. But Babar has to open and then you fit in others around him. I would also like to see Babar open in ODIs, if he scores we win or have much better chance of winning
 
I think rizwan and babar both deserve to open with fakhar at 3.in odis babar should continue batting at 3 and with rizwan at 5
 
The two best batsmen in the team are therefore automatic choices to open..I would much rather be 44-0 off 6 than 10-2 off 2
 
The real test on how they fare will be against top bowling attacks .
South africa used their bench players since their main quicks are not available

I think babar will be OK since he has textbook stroke play and placement and brilliant wristy flicks of his legs and genuinely is up there with the best players currently , but rizwan may struggle with his strike rate against a more quality bowler eg someone like lockie, bumrah , nortje , etc
 
I'll be honest and say I didn't think they could, but that was an absolute masterclass.
 
mazkhan said:
The real test on how they fare will be against top bowling attacks .
South africa used their bench players since their main quicks are not available

I think babar will be OK since he has textbook stroke play and placement and brilliant wristy flicks of his legs and genuinely is up there with the best players currently , but rizwan may struggle with his strike rate against a more quality bowler eg someone like lockie, bumrah , nortje , etc
Click to expand...

For the love of God. The same way he struggled against Jamiesen, Boult and Southee in New Zealand chasing 173 at a strike rate of 150? One of the literal best bowling attacks in the world.

New Zealand very rarely lose at home.

I actually don't even know why I reply to blatant agenda posts.
 
mazkhan said:
The real test on how they fare will be against top bowling attacks .
South africa used their bench players since their main quicks are not available

I think babar will be OK since he has textbook stroke play and placement and brilliant wristy flicks of his legs and genuinely is up there with the best players currently , but rizwan may struggle with his strike rate against a more quality bowler eg someone like lockie, bumrah , nortje , etc
Click to expand...

Rizwans purple patch started against NZ , one of the best attacks on their home ground. one could argue his recent batting form has been as good if not better than babar with some even better textbook storkeplay, his inside out over the top is a work of art.

Sometimes i feel like posters criticize players for the sake of it rather than actually watch what is happening and making a judgement of that.
 
I still don’t like this attack. I think Fakhar should open with Babar and Rizwan should come at three.
 
They aren't slow. Maybe they aren't the biggest hitters, but they generally score at a fast SR. Rizwan has an SR of 143 as opener. Babar's as opener is 138. Put into context Warner's is 139. Sharjeel for all his hype is 134. The most important thing is they put out a platform at a good SR for others to build on. Yes they lack acceleration, but it is far more important to reliably put on opening stands as they can do.

In fact I'm pretty sure Babar and Rizwan bat faster with each other than other partnerships involving Fakhar and Sharjeel.

The issue is with the middle order. Apart from Hafeez, the rest have done really poor. 4 out of 7 of the batsmen are producing almost nothing with the bat. That's what needs to be fixed. And partly it's not their fault, Babar and Rizwan are being so consistent putting on scores, that they are either having to slog ball one or don't get a chance to bat. Why I think it's important to promote these middle order batsmen from time to time so they get good opportunity to test themselves (like they really should today).
 
ATM they are the best option we have, we have played the fixer in one game & see what happened. The fixer is nothing player TBH shouldn't be allowed to make a comeback even in domestics.

Fakhar can play as 1 down with not many issues so I'll keep him there because for Babar & Rizwan it might get difficult to play at 1 down or 2 down because in PP they can easily find the gaps & will be set when the field spreads.

My pick for WT20

1. Babar Azam(C)
2. Muhammad Rizwan(WK)
3. Fakhar Zaman
4. Muhammad Hafeez
5. Haider Ali
6. Imad Wasim
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Muhammad Nawaz/ Usman Qadir/ Zahid Mehmood
9. Hassan Ali
10. Shaheen Shah
11. Muhammad Husnnain
 
Babar_Azam_fan said:
This combination might be a match losing one sometimes, like today
Click to expand...

I think that is harsh. This pair is our best opening partnership available and they both have very good numbers as openers. When they score big, they will win you matches, and since they both are consistent, this happens quite a few times. It never worked today, but overall they have been a success. The brittle middle order is the bigger concern.
 
Rizwan first and now Babar playing 5 dots out of 5 deliveries he faced in the first over
 
If the World Cup is in UAE than opening with Rizwan and Babar is even more important than it was before.

UAE wickets are going to be slow and sluggish. And on such wickets more often than not, it isn't easy to just go out and smash 20 off 5 balls. You need two guys who can set a good platform so that even if the middle order doesn't fire, you end up with atleast 150, which can be a winning total in UAE.
 
Rizwan
Sharjeel (don't like him but would rather accommodate him than guys like Asif, Iftikhar etc)
Babar
Fakhar
Hafeez
Azam/Haider/Shoaib
 
Just keep things simple and open with Fakhar and Sharjeel. Rizwan at 3 and Babar at 4. Any problems with this?
 
Rana said:
Just keep things simple and open with Fakhar and Sharjeel. Rizwan at 3 and Babar at 4. Any problems with this?
Click to expand...

PP SR T20I.jpg
Look at PP SR of these 4 batsmen, there isn't much difference but at least Rizwan and Babar are more consistent.
 
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Rizwan and fakhar aa openers. Babar at 3.
The best way to use Rizwan as a batsman in t20 is to open with him and maybe in ODIs too.
 
Mohammad Rizwan ends the powerplay today against Peshawar Zalmi on 34 from 19 (SR 179)
 
I don’t think Rizwan will ever play a match losing innings like Babar sometimes plays
 
marlonbrowndo said:
I don’t think Rizwan will ever play a match losing innings like Babar sometimes plays
Click to expand...
Extreme statement. Rizwan will and that’s okay. No player in history has always been “perfect”.
Disclaimer: I think Rizwan and Babar is a dream opening combo
 
Farabi said:
Extreme statement. Rizwan will and that’s okay. No player in history has always been “perfect”.
Disclaimer: I think Rizwan and Babar is a dream opening combo
Click to expand...

Nope. Rizwan will not. I’m not talking about a bad innings. I’m talking about a match losing innings. One that very directly contributes to your teams loss. One where the opposition would rather not get you out. Babar has played 2 in recent times. One for Pakistan and one for Karachi. Whereas Rizwan hasn’t played one I can remember.
 
Darkrai said:
View attachment 109608
Look at PP SR of these 4 batsmen, there isn't much difference but at least Rizwan and Babar are more consistent.
Click to expand...

Yup! Example where data proves that tour “eyes” can be deceiving. Guys like Wasim Akram and Shoaib haven’t seen this data when they say Sharjeel should open.

Rizwan and Babar play fewer dot balls and hit fewer sixes than Sharjeel/Fakhar do. They score their runs through boundaries and strike rotation, which doesn’t look like “power hitting” and maybe gives out the impression that Babar/Rizwan are slower than Fakhar/Sharjeel. But in fact, the end result delivered, batting SR is comparable.
 
It is time to close this thread and start a new one where the questions should be,

Has Pakistan ever seen a batsman like him before who plays this game of cricket like he is playing in his backyard?

Is it possible to stop him from winning a game in a run chase situation if he is the batsman who is opening the innings?

Is he really a Pakistani who was born in Peshawar? I honestly believe that he is not from planet earth and Pakistan is kind of cheating in a way by playing an alien in a game of cricket which should only be played by humans. Unfair to bring a superman and ask him to play cricket for your country.
 
Does it seriously matter who opens with Rizwan as he can single-handedly win the game for his team? Having Babar is just a bonus.
 
Babar_Azam_fan said:
Can Pakistan have Rizwan as an opener?, YES, a very good option
Can Pakistan have Babar as an opener?, YES, a very good option
Can Pakistan have Rizwan and Babar as openers?, a very big NOOO

Lot of people are not understanding what’s going on off late

In NZ, Babar didn’t play
In these two matches, Babar didn’t play more than 5 balls combined in two matches.

So, in New Zealand and here, Rizwan was actually playing with an aggressive partner. Haider was at the other end helping Rizwan by scoring 2-3 boundaries, so it didn’t look that bad


Imagine if both Babar and Rizwan play in the PP together.

Assuming both share equal number of balls (15 each)

Rizwan will be 17*(15)
Babar will be 20*(15)

So, by the end of PP, the score will be 37-0, may be 37-1, if one of them gets out.

So, the match will be over before it even gets to the 7th over.

When you’re chasing the score it’ll be much worse, as they’ve to go hard from the ball one, and we know neither are capable of it.

Chasing 190, Pakistan will be 40-3, with Babar, Rizwan and Haider all back in the pavilion

Pakistan management and Babar should think about it asap. Babar is not moving from the opening position, so it’s just right to take a harsh call and do injustice to Rizwan which is justifiable and move him from the opening spot.
Click to expand...

Neither are capable of it? Seriously. Think again brother as it is time to change your statement now.
 
Farabi said:
That’s handsome bonus I would have to say
Click to expand...

Babar is a world class batsman who is only going to get better with time. I agree that he needs to up his strike rate, but he is an unbelieveable player and just like Rizwan, Pakistan is lucky to have a batsman like Babar in any format of the game.
 
I think babar should bat at 3 rizwan and fakhar should be opening but I would give sharjeel a go.
 
it is the only choice we have and Fakhar at 3
 
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Top 3 should be Rizwan, Fakhar and Babar, without a question. But this looks awfully similar to the Indian line up a while ago with Dhawan, Rohit and Kohli. 9 times out of 10, one of these 3 will win you the game but the one time they didn't, it cost us the Champions Trophy and the World cup. Current PCT has the same issue and so should find good 4,5 and 6 to consolidate and build on the work of Rizwan, Babar and Fakhar. Hafeez, Asif Ali, Iftikhar, Haider are kind of out of form, looks like. Nevertheless, it'd be good if Pak can find more batsmen who can bat at 4,5 and 6 before the T20 world cup.
 
Top 3 should be Rizwan, Fakhar and Babar. It is a mind-boggling top 3. Haider Ali should bat at 4 and Hafeez at 5.

At 6 and 7, then need Symonds and Klusenar though.
 
Didn't even read the post properly before commenting. Rizwan has far superior acceleration to Babar Azam and has a much better strike rate than him in the PP. Anyway both of them should keep opening.

"Do injustice with Rizwan" lol as if the poor guy hasn't had enough of this in his career so far
 
GudduBadmash said:
Didn't even read the post properly before commenting. Rizwan has far superior acceleration to Babar Azam and has a much better strike rate than him in the PP. Anyway both of them should keep opening.

"Do injustice with Rizwan" lol as if the poor guy hasn't had enough of this in his career so far
Click to expand...

So true! and the forces there are still trying to get him out of the PCT no matter how well he performs.
 
They can afford and they should. Rizwan's consistent acceleration and adaptation to match situation is making him a world class t20i opener, and with babar with him, it provides a great balance for the opening pair. they both are very consistent, on one hand Rizwan has his newly found capability of hitting the ball, meanwhile babar can work the ball well in the gaps and hitting few boundaries here and there to keep the scoreboard ticking.

If Fakhar comes in at 3 and if Hafeez keeps faililing, we should seriously look to get Sohaib Maqsood in at 4, Haider at 5 (with some confidence) and Faheem at 6 would make a much more balanced t20 side.
 
Ab Fan said:
Top 3 should be Rizwan, Fakhar and Babar. It is a mind-boggling top 3. Haider Ali should bat at 4 and Hafeez at 5.

At 6 and 7, then need Symonds and Klusenar though.
Click to expand...

I would give a go to sharjeel,rizwan,babar,hafeez,fakhar,haider Ali

Fakhar has enough skill to bat anywhere in the top 6.if sharjeel fails then fakhar can open.
 
Ab Fan said:
Top 3 should be Rizwan, Fakhar and Babar. It is a mind-boggling top 3. Haider Ali should bat at 4 and Hafeez at 5.

At 6 and 7, then need Symonds and Klusenar though.
Click to expand...

Haider has been mince in my eyes. I would rather have Moqsood occupy that middle order.
 
Farabi said:
Extreme statement. Rizwan will and that’s okay. No player in history has always been “perfect”.
Disclaimer: I think Rizwan and Babar is a dream opening combo
Click to expand...

For me its a nightmare opening combo. Both relatively play the same.
 
An uncharacteristically poor outing for Rizwan today, gets bowled for 21 from 23.
 
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