Mohammad Rizwan clears air on opening pair for T20I series against Australia

Pakistan white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan on Wednesday responded to a question about the opening pair for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Australia, starting tomorrow in Brisbane.

The 32-year-old, during the media talk at The Gabba, was asked about Pakistan’s Playing XI for the series opener as well as the opening pair in the absence of Saim Ayyub and Fakhar Zaman.

Rizwan stated that the best possible line-up will be fielded; however, the combination has been kept as a ‘secret’ for now.

“There’s been a lot of talk about the playing XI, but we’ve kept it a secret for now because there are some things I want to keep to myself. Once the decisions are finalized, we’ll share them,” said Rizwan.

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“As for the opening, we always aim to stick with what’s working best, while also focusing on areas that need improvement. I always try to consult with others and make decisions that are in the best interest of Pakistan, whatever the situation may be,” he added.

For the unversed, during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Rizwan opened the innings for Pakistan with Saim Ayub, however, the latter is not part of the upcoming series, prompting speculations about the opening pair.

Squads for Pakistan-Australia T20I series

Australia: Josh Inglis (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Josh Philippe, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Abbas Afridi, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan.

READ: Rizwan opens up on Amir, Imad’s absence from T20I squad