Amir wants Babar, Rizwan to come out of their comfort zone

Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir has shared his opinion on the opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as the Men in Green prepare for the T20 World Cup.

During an interview, the 30-year-old emphasized that left-hander Fakhar Zaman should be considered an opener

 ALSO READ: Amir, Imad react after their side Jamaica Tallawahs win CPL 2022

"See, my opinion is quite different. I always wanted to see Fakhar Zaman opening the innings for Pakistan whenever someone asks me about this, so it's my honest opinion. No doubt the opening pair is performing well. Like, at some moment, the team goes towards the back foot, whenever you see the run rate from 7 and 8 goes to 11 and 12."

What is the missing element from Pakistan's opening pair? 🤔

Watch 👇@iamamirofficial#PAKvIND #WT20 #WorldT20 #ICCWT20 #Cricket #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/T5DASUFCcD

— ICA Sports (@icasportsplus) October 17, 2022

Amir has suggested the duo of Babar and Rizwan to come out of their comfort zone and explore themselves. "If they can score 40 runs in the powerplay, they can also score 50 to 60 runs."

"As part of the World Cup campaign, I think the opening pair should come out of their comfort zone because the whole team relies on them. Whenever we talk, we only hear that the team does not do anything if our openers return back to the pavilion," he added.

Meanwhile, Amir opined that Nawaz is a bowling all-rounder; hence, it is not ideal to rely on him entirely.

"We can see from the last match that Haider Ali is chipping, and Mohammad Nawaz has been performing well since the Asia T20 Cup, but Nawaz is a bowling all-rounder, not a batting all-rounder. If he was a batting all-rounder so we can say that we can hundred percent rely on him. But he is a bowling all-rounder, first, he bowls, then he bats; 70 percent he is a bowler, and 30 percent a batter. So when these crunch moments occur in such tournaments as World Cup, we need to get out of our comfort zone and think widely." Amir said.

Considering strike rate as an important factor for the opening pair Mohammad Amir said, "The strike rate matters the most in the T20 format, whether someone considers it or not. They say we are one- dimensional batsmen but can play off-shots, so in the T20I format, you have to show that because strike rate matters, because as an opener, if you are scoring 30-balls 35 runs, I don't think it is beneficial for the team, and if you are comfortable as an opener playing shots so you can score 50 runs in 30 balls as well."