"I am surprised that people want to separate them" - Ramiz Raja labels Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam as Pakistan's best-ever pairing
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja questions the conversations around separating Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as top-order batters. The former batter feels the pair is Pakistan's best in a long time and is surprised to see people wanting to separate them.
While Babar and Rizwan have been consistent and prolific run-getters, Pakistan's middle order has repeatedly struggled. In the absence of runs from the top-order batters, the middle order has struggled to rebuild the innings, dragging Pakistan to below-par totals.
Hence, there have been talks over one of Babar or Rizwan to carry the team's middle order.
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Speaking to Cricket Pakistan, Raja reflected on how people used to complain in the past about not having good openers but stated that the current pairing is world-class. The 57-year-old said:
"The pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan is our best-ever pair, I am surprised that people want to separate them. In the past, more than ten pairs were tried and people used to say that the Pakistan team did not have a good pair. Now that we have a great pair of openers, people discuss what binds our fantastic openers together."
The Men in Green faced a similar situation during the fourth T20 against New Zealand in the ongoing tri-nation series. With Babar and Rizwan struggling to get going, unlike their previous two games, no other batter could produce the runs.
Iftikhar Ahmed top-scored with 27 runs. However, his knock came at a run-a-ball as the Kiwis hunted down 131 with nine wickets to spare.
"We have to give credit to this team, this team does not disappoint" - Ramiz Raja
When asked about the extra pressure involved in the fixture against India at the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, Raja felt this was present before every game and took confidence from Pakistan's performance in the previous edition. The cricketer-turned-commentator added:
"Pressure is in every game. The Pakistan team was not given much importance in the last World Cup but we won five matches. We have to give credit to this team, this team does not disappoint. Their achievements are very high."
"When the winning graph is seventy-five percent, it means you are making less mistakes. Consistency in performance every day is not easy, it is a tough game."
CONGRATULATIONS: Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets!
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Last year's edition of the global T20 competition was the first time Pakistan beat India in a World Cup game. The comprehensive ten-wicket win came on the back of unbeaten half-centuries from Babar and Rizwan.