Pakistan have dropped Babar Azam for their must-win T20 World Cup game against Sri Lanka on Saturday. Here's why they might have made the call.
Babar Azam dropped for must-win game against Sri Lanka
Saturday's match at Pallekele began with Sri Lanka already knocked out, but Pakistan still alive in the tournament. They would have to win by 65-70 runs, or chase a target in 12-14 overs (depending on the score) to overtake New Zealand's net run rate and qualify for the semifinals.
The toss was won by Dasun Shanaka, who elected to field first. Sri Lanka made one change, with Janith Liyanage coming in for Dushan Hemantha. Pakistan, however, made three.
Saim Ayub, Babar Azam and Salman Mirza went out of the side, with Khawaja Nafay, Abrar Ahmed and Naseem Shah coming in; the latter for his first game of the tournament. Fakhar Zaman was promoted to open in Ayub's absence, with Nafay taking Babar's place at No.4 in the lineup.
Super 8 - Match 10, Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
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- Ball by ball Over
Babar's form in this tournament has been under-par with scores of 15 (18), 46 (32), 5 (7) and 25 (24), making 91 runs @ 22.75 and a strike rate of 112.34. Moving to an unfamiliar spot outside the top three in the batting order, Pakistan coach Mike Hesson admitted publicly that Babar's low strike rate in the Powerplay was “not a role we think we need,” and that “if we’re in a little bit of trouble… once he gets himself set, he can increase his strike rate at that point.”
Read more: Babar used to be Pakistan's whole gameplan – now he has no clear role
Essentially, Babar has been Pakistan's fail-safe batter; in the side to play a specific role in case they land up in trouble. But today, with everything on the line and a big win the need of the hour, they would need to go hard no matter how many wickets have fallen – rendering Babar's role in the side redundant. In case they are successful today, it remains to be seen whether he will return for the semifinals.
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup Super Eights: Playing XIs
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Charith Asalanka, Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka.
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha, Khawaja Nafay, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq.
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