All-rounder Shoaib Malik backs Babar-Rizwan as Pakistan openers for World Cup

Amid the recent debate regarding Pakistans opening pair in the T20 format allrounder Shoaib Malik wants to see the recordbreaking duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan open for the Men in GreenThe T20 World Cup 2024 is just a fortnight away and out of 20 teams Pakistan are the only team that hasnt announced its squadThe last editions finalists have continued to try out different combinations yet they ended up at the receiving end of criticism Former Pakistan Cricket Board PCB chairman Ramiz Raja has been vocal about his concerns regarding the experimentation as well as the opening pairRamiz questioned Saim Ayubs spot in the team especially in the opening slot Malik talked about Aybus highrisk approach contributing to inconsistency and suggested a pair based on the situation of the gameSaim Ayub plays with highrisk and this kind of batter has less chance of being consistent If there are highscoring matches Pakistan should open with Saim but if the matches are being played at a par score of 160 and 170 BabarRizwan should open Malik told reporters as quoted from Geo NewsDuring Pakistans fivematch home T20I series against New Zealand last month Ayub in four matches scored 52 runs at an average of 1425 with 32 as his highest score in the seriesDuring the recently concluded threematch T20I series against Ireland Ayub starred in the first match but overall struggled In three matches he scored 65 runs at an average of 2167 and a strike rate of 15116Also Read Kirstenrsquos presence should be beneficial for us all BabarWith Ayubs dwindling form Babar and Rizwan once again established themselves as the most reliable batting duo for Pakistan In the third T20I against Ireland Babar forged a 139run stand with Rizwan 56 for the second wicketTheir partnership laid the foundation for Pakistans success after Saim Ayub failed to provide an ideal start for the team This marked the 10thcentury partnership between the two Pakistan star batters in T20Is They became the first pair to achieve the featTheir current form will certainly help Pakistan in their quest for World Cup glory Malik is confident that Pakistan will walk into the tournament with confidence if they beat England in their upcoming fourmatch T20I seriesThe players are in good form as we won the series against Ireland recently If we manage to beat England in the upcoming T20I series the confidence would be more high Malik statedBefore heading for the T20 World Cup 2024 Pakistans fourmatch T20I series will begin on May 22 at Headingley Carnegie and will conclude on May 30 at The Oval LondonWith agency inputs