'It's risky to do that so close to the T20 World Cup' - Mohammad Yousuf on tinkering Babar-Rizwan opening combination

Even after multiple chances, the middle order of the Pakistan team has not been able to deliver as per expectations. With Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan getting dismissed early against New Zealand on October 11, the middle order had the perfect opportunity to capitalise but failed to do so. With that, the talk of playing either Babar or Mohammad in the middle order has once again begun.

However, Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s batting coach, has disagreed with the opinion and feels it to be a risky choice. Notable, the opening pair has been pretty successful in the last couple of years and he sees no point in breaking that so close to the T20 World Cup. Speaking in the post-match press conference, the former cricketer assured that the team is not at all thinking of breaking the successful pair.

“For the last two years, the pair have been playing at the top. No talk has taken place about it and with the World Cup ahead, there shouldn't be any change. It's risky to take such a chance. Rizwan was the Player of the Match in the first match, after which Babar won the award,” the 48-year-old said after Pakistan lost their first match of the tri-series against New Zealand.

“The management thinks that the way the two are playing, changes shouldn't be made, especially with the World Cup ahead,” he added.

Our batting was not up to the mark: Babar Azam

The middle order once again failed to take responsibility as Pakistan posted a below par total against New Zealand. Iftikhar Ahmed batted at a strike rate of 100 while Shadab Khan’s strike rate of 72.73 was concerning. Captain Babar was unhappy with their batting performance as New Zealand chased the target with ease to win the match by 9 wickets.

“First innings was a little bit slow, our batting was not up to the mark. Lot of things to discuss and a day off tomorrow. We will ensure we don't repeat the mistakes in the next game. We had a bad day, if we had got 160 would have been good but 130 is easy for the Black Caps,” said the 27-year-old in the post-match presentation.