NEW DELHI: As Pakistan succumbed to their fourth straight T20I defeat against New Zealand in Christchurch on Friday, opener
Mohammad Rizwan
admitted that the recent changes in the
team combination
have hurt their side.
One of the major decisions in the recent reshuffle was the split of one of Pakistan's best-ever opening pair of Rizwan and
Babar Azam
, a move that drew sharp criticism in the cricketing fraternity.
With the scores of 27, 1, 10 and 1, Saim Ayub, Rizwan's new opening partner, has under delivered at the top.
Defending the management's decision, Rizwan said that the team is trying different combinations ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup and the loses will come in the way.
After yet another defeat in the fourth T20I against the Kiwis, Rizwan, when asked about the split with Babar said: "Yes, you can say the split has hurt us (Nuksaan hua hai). The team management and the captain talked to us (me and Babar). Mohammad Hafeez also talked to us. Babar bhai has a big heart. We both agreed on the decision of splitting the opening pair and said there is no issue."
"The whole nation thought we had a good thing (partnership) going at the top of the batting order. But the management is working on the best that can be achieved from this team. Hafeez and Shaheen never said they we won't ever partner up at the top in future. They are trying different combinations and looking for the best," Rizwan said.
Earlier, former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja slammed the decision to split up the successful opening pair of Babar and Rizwan in the shortest format.
"So much pressure was created to break the opening pair of Babar and Rizwan. After breaking the opening partnership, which was evaluated based on the strike rate. When you bring in new players, they may perform well in leagues, but international cricket is a different beast where there is pressure, and the focus of the entire world is on you. You broke the opening pair that was famous worldwide," said Raja.
Pakistan currently trail 0-4 in the 5-match T20I series against New Zealand. The final match of the series will be played on January 21 in Christchurch.
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