Pakistani captain Babar Azam said that there will be no change in opening pair as the full-strength Pakistan side is set to take on New Zealand in five-match T20I series from April 14 in Lahore.
During pre-match presser, Babar said they will not do more experiments. "We don't need experiments now, I and Rizwan will open the batting," responded the skipper.
"We will see rest of the combination of the team. Haris and Shan have experience of batting at different numbers. Saim also plays his game so we will see and decide the playing XI after today's practice session," he added.
Babar and Rizwan alongside other senior players including Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Fakhar Zaman were given rest in Afghanistan T20I series which was played in Sharjah in March. An inexperienced squad, under the leadership of Shadab Khan, lost three-match T20I series 2-1.
While talking about the two new pacers, Ihsanullah and Zaman Khan in the squad, Babar said they add strength to their pace attack.
"Ihsan and Zaman are the two very good additions to our pace attack. Both the pacers are talented and can win us matches," he said.
Zaman and Ihsan add depth to Pakistan pace attack which already has Shaheen, Naseem Shah and Haris.
Captaincy gossips
Babar said he doesn't follow gossips about his captaincy. "I am not concerned about my captaincy. I just focus on my performance and try to utilise my players according to their strength," he highlighted.
"Chairman has given me confidence. We go series to series and try to continue good performance. I try to ignore criticism and focus on my performance," he concluded.
PCB management committee chairman Najam Sethi
In his latest YouTube interview, Sethi disclosed that Shahid Afridi-led selection committee suggested a change in Pakistan team's captaincy. "When we appointed previous selection committee, they asked us to do some changes including captain Babar Azam," he shared.
"When the new selection committee came, they said let the things continue. I said ok because I don't interfere in cricket matters. I believe in the suggestions I get from cricket people," he added.
After these statements, Sethi suffered massive critcism from Babar fans. #Stayinyourlimits started trending on Twitter.
- Babar Azam