"Breaking Rizwan, Babar's opening duo doesn't make sense": Ramiz Raja questions Saim Ayub's position
May 13, 2024
New Delhi [India], May 13 : Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja feels if opener Saim Ayub can't perform consistently then there was no point in breaking the established opening duo of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam.
After he struggled to put up runs against New Zealand in the T20I series last month, Saim Ayub showed signs of improvement with a quick-paced knock of 45(29) in the first T20I.
However, the young opening batter couldn't keep up with the consistency in the second T20I and fell for a score of 6 during Pakistan's chase of 194 on Sunday in Dublin.
"I don't think Saim Ayub gives you security, he shows flashes of brilliance. If you don't score 50 off 30 balls then breaking Rizwan and Babar's opening duo doesn't make any sense," Ramiz said on his YouTube channel on Monday.
In four matches against the Blackcaps, the 21-year-old scored 52 runs at an average of 14.25 with 32 as his highest score in the series.
Before Ayub, Babar and Rizwan were the designated openers for the Men in Green and they were one of the most prolific openers in the white ball set-up as well.
In four matches against the Kiwis, Ayub scored 52 runs at an average of 14.25 with 32 as his highest score in the series. Before Ayub, Babar and Rizwan were the designated openers for the Men in Green and they were one of the most prolific openers in the white ball set-up as well.
Before Hafeez's reign brought an end to Babar and Rizwan's time as openers, the stalwart Pakistan batters were one of the most prolific opening pair that the T20I format ever witnessed.
The record-breaking duo of Babar and Rizwan forged a 105-run stand which was their third-century partnership in the last edition of the Men's T20I World Cup in 2022. They set a new record, for registering the most hundred stands as an opening duo in the history of the tournament.
After Ireland emerged triumphant in the series opener, Pakistan's victory brought the series to level terms (1-1), the third match will decide the winner of the series which will be played on Tuesday at the Clontarf Cricket Club, Dublin.
