Babar Azam should be the Pakistan cricket team’s designated opener at the ICC Champions Trophy. That’s what former Pakistan captain and 1992 World Cup winner Wasim Akram thinks. The Men in Green had named their squad for the 8-team tournament on January 31, and Saim Ayub wasn’t included due to his ankle injury.
It was expected that he’ll be available for selection, but the rehabilitation process, which was originally set to be 6 weeks, seemingly has increased. In his absence, Pakistan needs an opener to partner with Fakhar Zaman. Akram thinks that Babar should be promoted to accommodate the absence of the youngster.
“I would like to see Rizwan as a middle-order batter and maybe ask Babar to open the inning. Babar has a brilliant technique. If he plays 50 overs and scores a hundred, the batting will revolve around him,” he said during a media talk.
Pakistan’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy
Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi
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