"There hasn't been even a single Pakistan batter who has scored a century since 2019" - Aakash Chopra on the Men in Green's No. 4 woes in ODIs
Aakash Chopra has highlighted Pakistan batters' underwhelming numbers at the No. 4 position in ODI cricket since 2019.
Babar Azam and Co. will lock horns with Sri Lanka in their final Asia Cup 2023 Super Four game at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday, September 14. They need to win the match to book their berth in the final against arch-rivals India on Sunday at the same venue.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that none of Pakistan's No. 4 batters have scored a century since 2019. He observed:
"We need to talk about Pakistan and their No. 4 woes. There hasn't been even a single Pakistan batter who has scored a century since 2019 at No. 4. Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Sohail, Haider Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Agha Salman, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shan Masood and Saud Shakeel, who has now come back, are part of that list."
The former Indian opener added that the Men in Green's No. 4 batters haven't scored too many fifties as well. He stated:
"Forget about the hundred. Among them, there are only two batters who have scored half-centuries as well. Rizwan has seven half-centuries while batting at No. 4 and Haris Sohail has one half-century."
Chopra added that Mohammad Rizwan, who has the most innings at No. 4 in this period, does not have great overall numbers either. He explained:
"If we see in terms of average, Haris Sohail has a good average of 55. The rest of them have played very few innings. The majority of the innings are with Rizwan, who has scored seven half-centuries at an average of nearly 37 and a strike rate of 85. It's not a great story."
Rizwan has amassed 974 runs at an average of 40.58 in the 28 innings he has played at No. 4 in his career. Although he scored two centuries in his first four knocks at the position, he hasn't reached the three-figure mark since March 2019.
"That is a potential problem" - Aakash Chopra on Pakistan's No. 4 issues
![Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed cheaply against India. [P/C: AP]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/09/f6fc3-16946667706822-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra feels Pakistan's No. 4 batters have underperformed, considering they mostly play on flat surfaces. He said:
"None of the other Test-playing nations have any such story that it has been four years and none of their No. 4 batters have scored a century. It has not been scored for them (Pakistan) although they play on good pitches. So Pakistan, think about it, that is a potential problem."
Pakistan have included Mohammad Haris and Saud Shakeel at the expense of Fakhar Zaman and Agha Salman in their playing XI for Thursday's game. It will be interesting to see if the duo bat at the same positions as the dropped players or whether either of them takes Rizwan's spot at No. 4.