Pakistani cricketer-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja has backed the duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as the openers of the national team. Reacting to Shahid Afridi’s opinion of Fakhar Zaman opening for Pakistan instead of Babar in T20Is, Raja said that the Babar-Rizwan duo might not give a strike rate of Rohit Sharma–Virat Kohli but they provide “solidity” to the team. While Babar and Rizwan have provided solid starts to Pakistan, their strike rate has come under scanner, quite a lot.

“Looking at what Pakistan have got, you cannot afford to start by losing wickets. They (Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan) may not give you a strike rate of a Rohit (Sharma) or a Virat (Kohli), but, you know, at least they give you solidity. And this Pakistan team, with the kind of batting lineup that they’ve got, they’ve got to play within what they have got. So it’s important that they start off with Babar and Rizwan because it takes years to establish an opening partnership and pair,” Ramiz Raja told Cricbuzz.

With the opening combination of Babar and Rizwan, Pakistan made it to the final of T20 World Cup 2022, where they lost to England by 5 wickets.

“And there’s a reason why Pakistan made it to the final of the World Cup (in 2022). Against England about a year back, they won by 10 wickets chasing 200 (in September 2022). Why break something that is working? This phobia of strike rate must end because Pakistan do not have the luxury of such skills and talent,” Raja added.

In the ongoing T20 World Cup, Pakistan have been kncoked. The side needs Ireland to beat United States on June 14 to bow out the tournament with a win.

Pakistan crashed out of the tournament after USA’s game against Ireland was washed out. With five points in three matches, USA joined India in the Super 8 stage from Group A.

The Pakistan cricket team’s second successive capitulation in an ICC World Cup has been receiving quite the flak. After an early exit from the ODI World Cup 2023, Pakistan were eliminated from the group stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup. What was even more disheartening for a Pakistan fan was that the team went out after losses against USA and India. Against the latter, Pakistan came close but could not make full use of a commanding situation. 

Ramiz Raja, former Pakistan cricket team captain and ex-Pakistan Cricket Board chief, lost his cool while decoding the side’s poor show.  

“Aapne choon-choon ka murabba bana diya hai iss team ko (you have turned this team into a mixture of varied things),” Raja said on hi YouTube channel.

“You brought back old, retired players so that somehow you save your face in the T20 World Cup…(you) let some of the good talent slip away just because this is a World Cup and it requires experience, we have to bring back retired players, even if they have bitched about the captain.” 

Raja went on to say that this was an age-old blunder by the Pakistan team. 

“Aise thodi team chalti hai. Yeh pehle bhi humne kar ke dekh liya tha (the team doesn’t work that way; we have tried this before),” Ramiz said. “I think it was the 2003 World Cup. We gathered all the super stars in that team thinking that experience will come handy. But those were ageing stars, and Pakistan couldn’t be saved. We got beaten badly there as well.”

“You have to see who to play, what is the captain’s role. Unless you allow the leadership to flourish in this environment, let them take decision, introduce discipline and merit, and not try to run it (the team) from the sidelines, unless you have the cricket IQ and thinking and take good decisions morally and cricket-wise, until that time it’s almost impossible for this team to get back up on its legs,” Ramiz said.

“You will now find sacrificial lambs to save your place. That’s not how you run cricket.”

Pakistan captain Babar Azam stood by to click pictures with a hoard of fans in Cardiff, despite initially being unimpressed at the sudden crowd that had surrounded him. In a video that went viral over social media, Babar – dressed in a casual cream-coloured outfit – has been captured addressing some of the fans to not surround and film him on the street. However, Babar eventually offered to click selfies with the fans. Security officials were also present near Babar to control the situation.

Babar Azam is presently leading the Pakistan team on a four-match T20I tour to England. Pakistan are in Cardiff for the third T20I on May 28. After the first game was abandoned due to rain, the men in green lost the second match by 23 runs.

This is a complete video. It’s funny how people like him with these many followers can set Babar for hatred. For others, I would like to say it’s always better to wait for a complete story before forming your opinions. https://t.co/2YiFj5mc7i pic.twitter.com/1uCr83I8xx

— Cricket Nerd (@goodmen761) May 28, 2024

The fan-following for Babar comes as no surprise after he was reinstated as Pakistan’s white-ball captain ahead of the T20 World Cup. Babar took back captaincy responsibilities from Shaheen Shah Afridi, under whom Pakistan lost four of their five games. It is important to remember that Pakistan are being coached by former India head coach Gary Kirsten, who won the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup with the men in blue.

The series against England is part of both nations’ preparations ahead of the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which gets underway on June 2. Pakistan’s first match is against hosts United States on June 6.

Babar will be hoping to improve on his 26-ball 32 from the second game. He was trapped LBW by Moeen Ali. Fakhar Zaman top-scored with a 21-ball blitz of 45 runs. Shaheen Afridi led the wickets’ column, picking up three. However, the left-arm seamer did come under criticism from former Pakistan selector Ramiz Raja.

“He (Shaheen) needs to develop the length ball and change of pace, especially when he is not getting much from the pitch. If he bowls at full length when the ball isn’t swinging, he will go for runs” Ramiz Raja said on his YouTube channel.

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja voiced concerns over Shaheen Shah Afridi’s bowling especially when the ball doesn’t swing. With the sun shining down at Edgbaston, Pakistan succumbed to a 23-run defeat in the second T20I against England. While Pakistan’s batting set-up lacked firepower during the chase, their bowlers also produced underwhelming spells in the first innings. Star pacer Shaheen Afridi stood out with three wickets in his four-over spell but struggled to make his mark in the early phase of the game.

While pinpointing Shaheen’s struggle, Ramiz believes that the pacer needs to develop more variations to become more effective in the format.

“Shaheen Shah Afridi’s bowling. Look, if the ball isn’t swinging and he bowls at full length, then he gets bashed. He needs to develop length ball and change of pace especially when he is not getting much from the pitch. Even today, he didn’t bowl perfectly with the new ball and [England] escaped pressure,” Ramiz said on his YouTube channel.

With the pitch hardly offering any swing in the opening phase of the game, Shaheen struggled to cause trouble to England’s opening pair in the powerplay.

He picked up most of his wickets in the middle and death overs when England were trying to accelerate their innings to reach a competitive total.

In his four-over spell, Shaheen removed Jonny Bairstow (21), Moeen Ali (4) and Chris Jordan (3). He ended up giving away 36 runs out of which he conceded 21 runs in his two overs of the powerplay.

Jos Buttler’s 84-run blitz off 51 deliveries helped England post 183/7 on the board. In reply, it was a collective effort from Pakistan batters to help their team get across the line. However, none of them stayed on the pitch long enough to see off the game for the visitors.

Most of them lost their wicket while attempting to clear the boundary rope during the chase of 184. England bowlers played their cards at the right time to clinch a 23-run win.