"It has hurt Pakistan" - Mohammad Rizwan on breaking his opening partnership with Babar Azam in T20Is

Pakistan keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan admitted that breaking his and Babar Azam's opening pairing ahead of the T20I series against New Zealand hurt them. The 31-year-old suggested that Pakistan didn't have to change something that was already working.

Babar and Rizwan have arguably been the most solid opening pair for the Men in Green in T20Is, having shared over five 150+ stands in the format, with the highest being 203*. However, the management decided to demote the 29-year-old Babar to No. 3 to accommodate the young Saim Ayub. But it has not yielded the returns they would have liked over the first four matches.

Speaking at a presser after the fourth T20I, Rizwan said the duo were open to getting split as the opening pair and went with the management's decision. As quoted by Cricket Pakistan, he said:

"You can say that it [breaking the opening pair] has hurt Pakistan. I can say that Babar bhai has a big heart. We both agreed that there is no issue [in splitting the opening pair]. We both told the management that they can try whatever combination they want. The difficulty arises when you break things that were already working well. However, management is looking at what can be extracted best from different combinations."

After failing in the first three T20Is, Rizwan found his range in the fourth T20I against the Kiwis in Christchurch on Friday. He struck an unbeaten 90 off 63 balls to lead Pakistan to a competitive 159, but the hosts won by five wickets.

Babar Azam falls cheaply after 3 consecutive half-centuries

Meanwhile, former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam could not lead the visitors to a win on Friday in Christchurch despite a promising start to his innings.

The right-hander smashed a couple of boundaries and a six before perishing to Adam Milne for 19 off 11 deliveries. He had made 58, 66, and 57 in the first three games of the series, albeit in a losing cause.

New Zealand lost three wickets early in their pursuit of 160, but Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell shared an unbeaten 139-run partnership to help their side to a 4-0 lead.