Cricket

'Opening position ka khuaf sata raha hoga' - Fans troll Babar Azam for hailing youngsters adjusting to middle-order roles in Pakistan team

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was trolled for his statements about youngsters Saim Ayub and Mohammad Harris. Here's the full story.

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Babar Azam

Babar Azam (Source: Twitter)

According to skipper Babar Azam of Pakistan, Saim Ayub and Mohammad Haris, Pakistan's specialised openers, may bat in the middle of the order during the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand. According to the 28-year-old, Ayub and Haris are prepared to express themselves regardless of where they bat.

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The declaration was made although, during the recently finished T20I series against Afghanistan, the pair opened Pakistan's innings instead of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan. On the eve of the first T20I, Babar Azam told reporters: "The good thing about these youngsters is that they aren't worried about their batting positions."

Both Haris and Ayub scored 300+ runs in the PSL 2023

For those unaware, Haris recently finished the season of the Pakistan Super League by scoring 350 runs in 12 games at a strike rate of 186.17. On the other hand, Ayub scored 341 runs at a strike rate of 165.53 while playing in 12 T20 matches.

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However, the pair underperformed against Afghanistan as openers, and Pakistan lost the three-match T20I series 2-1. Fans made fun of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for refusing to move out of their opening positions, in contrast to Ayub and Haris.

Babar Azam has recently come under fire from Pakistan giants Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis for sticking to the opening slot. Waqar called it the simplest position to bat in, but Akram called him "insecure."

Waqar remarked in a statement to "The Pavilion" during the 2022 20-20 World Cup: "The easiest place to bat in T20s is opening. You have not let anyone else open in the last two years. I have discussed this with Misbah before, that why don't you try something new? You have tried it out with bowling, but with batting, we have tried all the experiments with the middle order. But the openers have remained the same. Sometimes, as a captain and as a leader, you leave your spot, and that is why we are suffering. The difference between being a captain and the leader, well, that's the difference."

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Pakistan legend Wasim Akram added, "All of these things begin at the top. And at the top is your captain. If your captain plays for himself and is insecure. If your captain scores run and let other batters play at his position, you get to know that your captain is ready to sacrifice himself for you; this Babar has to learn."

Here’s how fans reacted:

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