Babar Might Return To His Original Position For CT 2025
The Pakistan cricket team is lacking one genuine opener due to Saim Ayub's injury. Selectors included Fakhar Zaman in the team, which was the correct decision. However, they should have included another option like Imam Ul Haq, or they could have retained Abdullah Shafiq to have a choice. However, now the Pakistan cricket team has only limited options for openers for the ICC Champions Trophy, and Pakistan's first match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is going to be held tomorrow.
The Pakistan cricket team experimented and aligned Babar Azam with Fakhar Zaman to open the Pakistan innings with the bat in ODI. However, Pakistan's cricket team interim coach, Aqib Javed, said in a press conference after losing the match against New Zealand on 14th February that Babar Azam is unable to convert his good start into 50s or 100s and that we are working to sort it out with Babar Azam. Moreover, Aqib Javed downplayed any issue that he is having due to being a makeshift opener.
Moreover, it seems like the Pakistan cricket team might have reinstated Babar Azam to play in his original position, which is 3rd (one down), so that Pakistan does not lose early wickets and Babar Azam feels comfortable and can make more runs against a good side. According to media reports, Usman Khan might open with Fakhar Zaman. However, it might not be a good idea as Usman Khan has been struggling to make runs against a good side, and he was tried last year, and he could not make runs.
Additionally, Pakistan cannot afford to lose early wickets against any good team, and tomorrow's match against New Zealand is going to determine Pakistan's chances of playing in the Champions Trophy semi-final. It will be a wise decision by the Pakistan cricket team if they play with the same team and the same position assigned for tomorrow's match against New Zealand. Moreover, Pakistan's main issue is fielding, and bowlers are unable to take early wickets. However, batting-wise, the Pakistan team required no changes.
