Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have always been criticized for their strike rate in T20 cricket. Babar’s captaincy was also questioned recently. However, Pakistan has realized how important these two teams are after the first two T20 series of the Afghanistan series. Acting captain Shadab Khan thinks that the media and people of Pakistan will respect these two from now on. Resting regular captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) fielded a squad of youngsters who performed in the PSL for the three-match Twenty20 series against Afghanistan. The country’s cricket board said at the time that they wanted to give opportunities to youngsters in the team as part of their plans for the 2024 World Cup. And senior stars like Shaheen Shah Afridi and Fakhar Zaman along with Babar-Rizwan have been rested due to their busy schedule. However, many were worried that Babar and Rizwan might be dropped from the T20 team due to the strike rate issue. Before that, the PCB is walking the path of such a plan to find alternatives. But in the first two matches of the three-match series against Afghanistan, Pakistan is feeling the lack of Babar and Rizwan.

Pakistan’s batting order collapsed for just 92 runs in the first match. And in the second match, Tenetune collected 130. Afghans have confirmed the series by winning both matches. Acting captain Shadab faced the media after the series loss on Sunday (March 26). He did not forget to mention that the inexperienced batting order was responsible for such a bad loss against Afghanistan. Babar and Rizwan have brought up the topic of unnecessary criticism.

Shadab said, “Whether Babar and Rizwan play well or badly, people criticize them. There is always a sword on their neck with a strike rate. We wanted the youngsters who played well in PSL to come to international cricket. We thought they would play with a good strike rate. But the people of Pakistan will finally understand that experience is a big deal and our senior players have not got the respect they deserve in terms of performance. Hopefully, after this series, they will get more respect from the media and people.