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"Fakhar Zaman's batting order must be addressed," claims Mudassar Nazar

He claimed that Pakistan management needs to test Fakhar Zaman as an opener once again, especially on the back of an unstable opening display by Rizwan and Babar

PHOTO: FILE

Former Pakistan Test cricketer Mudassar Nazar claimed that Sri Lanka deserved to win against Pakistan in the recently concluded Asia Cup.

Both teams went head to head in the final of the Asia Cup where Pakistan fell 23 runs short of the 171-run target.

Addressing how the match ended, Mudassar Nazar claimed that any team which beats the other one twice then they deserve to be the champion.

"Sri Lanka deserved to win this cup since they beat Pakistan convincingly twice. While Pakistan's batting and overall performance declined through the tournament Sri Lanka kept improving through consistent performance from their key players with almost all the players contributing throughout the tournament," Mudassar said.

The 66-year-old further claimed that Pakistan needs to vary its approach while approaching matches. He claimed that Pakistan management needs to test Fakhar Zaman as an opener once again, especially on the back of an unstable opening display by Rizwan and Babar.

"Pakistan team is lucky because they have an opportunity to pick themselves up against England before the World Cup. Team management and the selectors should sit and work out a strategy not just for England but World Cup as well. Generally, Pakistani batsmen find conditions in Australia very challenging. Little all-rounders would be of no use neither in batting nor in bowling in Australia," he said.

"They should also address the batting number of Fakhar Zaman. We have seen in the previous PSL how devastatingly good he is in the power play but only too often he perishes once the field is spread and he is caught in the deep. I am aware of how successful Babar and Rizwan have been but they bat at the same pace and seldom take the game away from the opposition. But if we are afraid to tinker with their partnership then we may have to take another opinion about Fakhar. Another thing we must do is to scan the last PSL and look for the successful batsmen for the franchises who regularly bat in the first five and are performing day in day out," he further added.