Pakistan have dropped former captain and the team’s highest T20I run-scorer Babar Azam for Saturday’s must-win T20 World Cup clash against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Stadium. He was part of the three changes the Men in Green made to their 11 after the defeat against England.
Young all-rounder Saim Ayub also got the axe, alongside pacer Salman Mirza. Interestingly, Pakistan went the specialist route and completely altered their team balance, bringing in only one batter — gloveman Khawaja Nafay — and two bowlers, pacer Naseem Shah and spinner Abrar Ahmed.
A simple win won’t suffice for Pakistan. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka asked them to bat first after winning the toss and now, Salman Agha’s men will need to put up a huge score and then defend it by a margin of at least 64 runs.
Only then would they be able to match the currently second-placed New Zealand on points and beat their net run-rate (NRR) to finish second in Group 2. That somewhat explains the changes as the Men in Green need batters who can be aggressive enough to take them to a huge score and then enough bowling options to cause a collapse in the Sri Lankan batting order, which the co-hosts have been susceptible to.
While Babar’s snub might come as a surprise for some, the veteran batter would know it was coming. He managed only 91 runs in four innings so far in the competition at an abysmal strike rate of 112.35. In some matches, he was pushed so far down the order that he didn’t even get the chance to bat.
