Who should be the opening batters in T20Is for Pakistan?

[Saj]

Some including Mickey Arthur are suggesting that breaking up the Rizwan/Babar opening partnership and pushing Fakhar Zaman to the opening position would help Pakistan in T20Is.

What do you think should be the opening partnership for Pakistan in T20Is?

 

[Cric1234]

I said before the T20
WC last year that Babar and Rizwan won’t win us the World Cup if we encounter high scoring matches and the same will happen in Australia as conditions will be tougher.

Babar
Umar
Fakhar
Haider

This type of lineup is the only small hope we’ve got in Australia otherwise it’s an uphill struggle we will get overpowered by the non Asian teams.

Babar won’t drop down the order which means Rizwan must as he’s past his prime now and approaching a decline anyway.

 

[Rana]

1. (Left/Left)

Fakhar Zaman
Sharjeel Khan

2. (Left/Right)

Fakhar Zaman
Muhammad Harris

3. (Left/Right)

Fakhar Zaman
Asif Ali

4. (Left/Right)

Khushdil Shah
Asif Ali

5. (Right/Right)

Umar Akmal
Asif Ali

6. (Right/Right)

Umar Akmal
Sharjeel Khan

These players are far more suitable to make opening combinations out of instead of Babar+Rizwan:

Fakhar
Sharjeel
Asif Ali
Khushdil
Umar Akmal
Muhammad Harris

 

[shamaan]

Umar Akmal has no chance.

 

[Cric1234]

1. (Left/Left)

Fakhar Zaman
Sharjeel Khan

2. (Left/Right)

Fakhar Zaman
Muhammad Harris

3. (Left/Right)

Fakhar Zaman
Asif Ali

4. (Left/Right)

Khushdil Shah
Asif Ali

5. (Right/Right)

Umar Akmal
Asif Ali

6. (Right/Right)

Umar Akmal
Sharjeel Khan

These players are far more suitable to make opening combinations out of instead of Babar+Rizwan:

Fakhar
Sharjeel
Asif Ali
Khushdil
Umar Akmal
Muhammad Harris

Khushdil doesn’t have the technique to be an opener Asif is a hack on a good day he might score a quick 30 others have potential.

In reality we will lose more matches with the current opening partnership in Australia anyway it’s better to change it and not say what might have been later which is always the case with Pakistan.

 

[Rana]

Khushdil doesn’t have the technique to be an opener Asif is a hack on a good day he might score a quick 30 others have potential.

In reality we will lose more matches with the current opening partnership in Australia anyway it’s better to change it and not say what might have been later which is always the case with Pakistan.

Khushdil Shah doesn’t have the technique but Mohammad Rizwan does? Come on man! These guys are way better off playing in the powerplay instead of trying to be these fake power hitters they are incapable of becoming at international level

 

[Rana]

Umar Akmal has no chance.

Umar Akmal has never backed himself

He will be a gun white ball T20 opener if he tries

 

[MenInG]

1. (Left/Left)

Fakhar Zaman
Sharjeel Khan

2. (Left/Right)

Fakhar Zaman
Muhammad Harris

3. (Left/Right)

Fakhar Zaman
Asif Ali

4. (Left/Right)

Khushdil Shah
Asif Ali

5. (Right/Right)

Umar Akmal
Asif Ali

6. (Right/Right)

Umar Akmal
Sharjeel Khan

These players are far more suitable to make opening combinations out of instead of Babar+Rizwan:

Fakhar
Sharjeel
Asif Ali
Khushdil
Umar Akmal
Muhammad Harris

Its a poll - add your vote to it.

 

[PakEngFan]

1. (Left/Left)

Fakhar Zaman
Sharjeel Khan

2. (Left/Right)

Fakhar Zaman
Muhammad Harris

3. (Left/Right)

Fakhar Zaman
Asif Ali

4. (Left/Right)

Khushdil Shah
Asif Ali

5. (Right/Right)

Umar Akmal
Asif Ali

6. (Right/Right)

Umar Akmal
Sharjeel Khan

These players are far more suitable to make opening combinations out of instead of Babar+Rizwan:

Fakhar
Sharjeel
Asif Ali
Khushdil
Umar Akmal
Muhammad Harris

Fakhar a flopped t20 opener. Umar akmal struggled in KPL lol and can’t even make his domestic team. Sharjeel an unfit fixer and on top a very average bat. Asif Ali is the worst player to play for Pakistan. Khushdil struggles against pace. Only good shout is Mohammed Haris who needs to stop playing like a hack.

 

[fight_club]

Fakhar and Haider Ali period

 

[shamaan]

Umar Akmal has never backed himself

He will be a gun white ball T20 opener if he tries

He can't even make the first xi for his domestic team.

 

[Gayle_Force]

I might be in the minority but I will not change the opening pair as I think Babar/Rizwan combo gives Pakistan the highest % chance of having a positive start and not losing wicket in the first 3-4 overs.

Every other opener I feel there is more of a chance of Pakistan being one down right away compared to us having a flying start.

 

[Cric1234]

He can't even make the first xi for his domestic team.

He did well in the PSL coming in the first 6 overs and in the T10 league in UAE opening he’s better suited to this position than the lower order the ability is still there just needs a score to regain form due to a lack of cricket played recently.

 

[Anis Shivani]

I'm going to say something completely different.

Haider Ali and Abdullah Shafique as T20 openers.

I'm sure Abdullah Shafique will come good in this format, if you work on him.

Down the order you should have Kamran Ghulam, along with three or four of the most aggressive specialist batsmen on the domestic circuit.

The Rizwan and Babar opening combo is possibly coming to an end. It provides stability, and at least prevents collapses, so that more often than not you reach 150-170, but it's not going to win you tournaments. Also, it's a little unfair to blame everything on the middle order. Often the middle order batsmen don't get a chance to come in until too late, with just a few overs left, so they get out quickly. I'm sorry to say that Rizwan sucks up too much air in the beginning, even if it provides stability in most cases. I can see the case for Rizwan/Babar as openers, but only if both are in fabulous form, as Rizwan was until recently, and even then there was a high cost to it.

 

[shamaan]

He did well in the PSL coming in the first 6 overs and in the T10 league in UAE opening he’s better suited to this position than the lower order the ability is still there just needs a score to regain form due to a lack of cricket played recently.

He won't make the team he's playing in the second xi for his domestic t20 team.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Fakhar as an opener would suit well in Aus and NZ where t20 conditions are as flat as possible and the outfield is fast as heck.

Different case in UAE, SL and Ban though.

 

[sweep_shot]

Fakhar-Sharjeel.

Can be lethal.

Alternatively, Fakhar-Babar or Fakhar-Haider.

 

[pratiktc]

Sharjeel and Umar???

God save this Pakistan team if these perennial losers are brought anywhere near playing XI.

With resources in hand, Babar-Rizwan is still best opening combination. Especially for India game where there was early assistance for seamers, it made even more sense.
If either of Babar or Fakhar had not gotten out cheaply the slow buildup could have been recovered and made into a match winning 165 score.

 

[Asif321]

Rizwan should bat at 3

 

[Farabi]

I'm going to say something completely different.

Haider Ali and Abdullah Shafique as T20 openers.

I'm sure Abdullah Shafique will come good in this format, if you work on him.

Down the order you should have Kamran Ghulam, along with three or four of the most aggressive specialist batsmen on the domestic circuit.

The Rizwan and Babar opening combo is possibly coming to an end. It provides stability, and at least prevents collapses, so that more often than not you reach 150-170, but it's not going to win you tournaments. Also, it's a little unfair to blame everything on the middle order. Often the middle order batsmen don't get a chance to come in until too late, with just a few overs left, so they get out quickly. I'm sorry to say that Rizwan sucks up too much air in the beginning, even if it provides stability in most cases. I can see the case for Rizwan/Babar as openers, but only if both are in fabulous form, as Rizwan was until recently, and even then there was a high cost to it.

I actually agree that Haider and Abdullah should be in T20 11, but why not lower down the order

 

[mesmerizer85]

Fakhar-Haider

 

[D/DAhmed]

I don't understand why people keep trying to fix the part of our lineup that for now needs the most attention. On average, Babar-Rizwan partners will get us 70 to 80 runs for no wicket in the first 10 overs. After that numbers 3-8 have the perfect platform to score 10 per over and get us at least 100 runs in the next 10, leaving us to score 170+.

The problem for us is clearly our rubbish middle order, specifically the hacks Khushdil Shah and Asif Ali. At this point there really aren't any better option than Fakhar and Iftikhar (to be honest Ifti chacha didn't play that badly yesterday and doesn't have a particularly bad T20I record, I don't know why he keeps getting taken apart by our fans).

At the rate we're going at, we should just give Haider Ali unlimited opportunities to cement himself at 5, promote Shadab to 6 and bring in Faheem for #7 or #8. With Faheem you at least get a 6th bowling option, and his record in terms of SR/Average isn't that different from Asif Ali on both the international and domestic level. Once the middle order is sorted, then you can look at potentially moving Rizwan and Babar, up until then I wouldn't touch it, otherwise we'll be scoring below 100 in every game

 

[Rana]

Misbah psychology dream XI if they had it their way

1. Babar
2. Rizwan
3. Masood
4. Shafique
5. Iftikhar
6. Asif
7. Shadab
8. Hassan
9. Wahab
10. Muhammad Irfan
11. Shaheen

 

[Sunny_majoka]

Babar and fakher are ideal openers if it's up to me I won't even play Rizwan t20i match. He is destroying our chances of winning world cup

 

[FearlessRoar]

Ahmad Shahzad and Sahibzada Farhan are next to make comeback as openers in Pakistan Cricket Team. They don't need any PR campaign because both the openers didn't left a single domestic tournament and been giving consistent top notch performances in this season!

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Well, I believe Saim Ayub and Fakhar should open in T20 cricket because teams that utilize the powerplay win the game psychologically upfront.

 

[hitthestump]

Ahmad Shahzad and Sahibzada Farhan are next to make comeback as openers in Pakistan Cricket Team. They don't need any PR campaign because both the openers didn't left a single domestic tournament and been giving consistent top notch performances in this season!

How do we fit all these openers into one XI?

Rizwan
Babar
Saim
Fakhar
Haris
Shehzad
Farhan

We had an opening crisis for years and years and suddenly they've all come at once.

I don't see how there's any room for Ahmed Shehzad now. Farhan might make the squad, but the queue in front of him is pretty hefty.

 

[daytrader]

So much competition for the slots. The management should not underestimate the value of a left hand/right hand combo

 

[MANU ROY]

Saim Ayub and Mohammad Haris are best option for Pakistan

 

[RidiculousMan]

One of Babar and Rizwan needs to come at no. 3 and potentially the other one can be left out from the XI as Saim, Haris, Fakhar bat more aggressively.

 

[RidiculousMan]

How do we fit all these openers into one XI?

Rizwan
Babar
Saim
Fakhar
Haris
Shehzad
Farhan

We had an opening crisis for years and years and suddenly they've all come at once.

I don't see how there's any room for Ahmed Shehzad now. Farhan might make the squad, but the queue in front of him is pretty hefty.

If all of them are at the top of their game then I'd go something like;

1. Saim
2. Fakhar / Haris (Haris can also be used in the death for hitting)
3. Babar

 

[Asif321]

Fakhar and Saim no doubt

 

[hitthestump]

One of Babar and Rizwan needs to come at no. 3 and potentially the other one can be left out from the XI as Saim, Haris, Fakhar bat more aggressively.

Yeah I think it’s finally possible now that Babar could lose his place in the XI entirely.

It was only two years ago that the entire team depended on RizBab’s runs in order to get any total. Now competition for places looks a bit better.

Whatever happens this is a good thing. Babar will have to bat at a higher SR now and his competition will need to start scoring more runs.

What we need to do is ensure that we get suitable rotation in the upcoming games. None of these keeping the same team because we won a meaningless game.

 

[shamaan]

Haris
Fakhar
Saim

 

[Rana]

NOT

Babar and Rizwan

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Anyone who can utilize the powerplay effectively.

Might be we can go with Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman.