After Pakistan suffered a 23-run defeat against England, former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja stated that the Men in Green need to bring back the previous opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and captain Babar Azam. Raja also stated that the “undercooked” Saim Ayub, who opened with Rizwan in the second T20I against England, should be benched because due to him the “entire combination has been disturbed.” Engalnd captain Jos Buttler’s half-century and Reece Topley and Jofra Archer’s fine spells powered the home side to a 23-run win over Pakistan in the second T20I at Birmingham on Saturday.
With this win, England take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. The first game was washed out due to rain.
The former PCB chief said Pakistan needed to compete better to win the match but they made many mistakes which caused them the game.
“Win or lose is part of the game but Pakistan could’ve competed better and may have even won at the end but they made mistakes. First, let’s identify the problem areas for Pakistan,” Raja said on YouTube.
Raja said Pakistan should bench Ayub as he is “undercooked” and the batter has been given too many chances to do better in international cricket, however, he still underperforms. In the match, Ayub only managed to score two runs in 7 balls and fell prey to England’s star pacer Reece Topley.
This is not the first time the youngster struggled in international cricket. He struggled to put up runs against New Zealand in the T20I series last month but Ayub showed signs of improvement with a quick-paced knock of 45(29) in the first T20I. 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. The seasoned duo recorded a record-breaking stand of 105-run stand which was their third-century partnership in the last edition of the Men’s T20I World Cup in 2022.
“First, Saim Ayub coming as an opener. I don’t think Pakistan should continue with Saim. He has been given too many chances and you have to do better in [international] cricket. He is undercooked. You need to revert to the opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam because that is Pakistan’s strength and they understand each other’s game. The entire combination has been disturbed due to Saim,” he added.
Meanwhile, the action of the four-match T20I series will shift at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff where the hosts England will take on Pakistan in the third game on Tuesday.
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