Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez has advised Pakistan not to rely only on the top three in the T20 World Cup.

In an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, former all-rounder suggested the No.1 pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to show hunger for scoring runs with intent.

“I have said this before as well, Babar and Rizwan are the number one pair for Pakistan. They have helped Pakistan cricket win and grow. But if there is anything both players can improve upon; it is intent,” he said.

“You can be less successful, less consistent, but more impactful. This was the idea behind my statement,” added Hafeez.

He further claimed that Pakistan’s approach in the T20Is is rather unfair to the middle-order, which is one of the main reasons they have been found out every now and then.

“How is it possible for you to consume the 6-over powerplay and still score 60-65 in the first 10 overs? Then the demand is on the middle-order to play with 12 NRR to push the score to a challenging total. This seems unfair to me,” he explained.

Hafeez further mentioned that Pakistan’s middle-order failed during the Asia Cup because players like Khushdil and Asif don’t rely on innings building.

“Khushdil and Asif do not rely on innings building and they are very one-dimensional players. Khushdil has a SR of 110 and we consider him an international hitter and that is not right. We need to get to the bottom of this situation,” he added.

“We need to ask ourselves do these players have the ability to absorb pressure? Can they build an innings if Babar and Rizwan fall early? We have selected these players based on the fact that our top-order takes time to settle which is ridiculous,” slammed Hafeez.

Building on Pakistan’s chances in the upcoming World Cup, Hafeez said that including Shan Masood was a decision that should have been taken long ago.

“Dair aaye durast aaye. Shan Masood was a ready product and we were wasting his potential. He is a wonderful addition because he has earned his position by performing everywhere. He is going to prove crucial for Pakistan, especially with Fakhar Zaman injured, ” he added.

Talking about Pakistan’s chances in the upcoming World Cup in Australia, Hafeez said that it will all depend on the momentum.

“Players who have a strong base need to be selected for the team. The composition of the team needs to be crucial because each wicket is as important as the others. We need to stop prioritizing the first three wickets and give more value to players to come after them,” he said.

“Rizwan and Babar need to be in form and have the right intent. We need to have the right batting combination. Our bowling is already complete. But if we have injuries, do we have enough backups available at hand to keep performing at the highest level?” Hafeez left everyone with a valid question.