Karachi: Former captain Shahid Afridi has shared his thoughts on Pakistan team’s opening pair and the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Afridi believes that Saim Ayub needs to get fitter for the tournament if he wants to open the innings for Pakistan.
“Not Saim Babar and Rizwan. Saim was given many opportunities but failed to deliver. Many admire his talent, but Saim needs to run as the opening stand is an important part of the game. I think he has played 15 T20I innings but he is yet to score a fifty,” Afridi told a local news channel.
“Saim needs to show more responsibility during the match and score match-changing runs at least two out of every five innings. We haven’t seen this from Saim, but he can have more potential. If that doesn’t work, Pakistan can give Fakhar Zaman chance to be opener in the World Cup.”
Ayub scored 219 runs in 15 matches for Pakistan at an average of 125.86 in T20I cricket. The highest score was 49 with an average of 14.60.
It should be noted that the Pakistan team is currently preparing for the T20I series against Ireland and England. The Men in Green will play three matches against Ireland and four against England before traveling to the United States this month for the T20 World Cup.
‘Saim is the issue, not Babar and Rizwan’: Shahid Afridi
