Mohammad Rizwan – ‘Babar Azam still contributing valuably if you don’t judge him by extreme expectations’

“Babar has scored so many runs for Pakistan that we expect him to score a hundred in each game,” Rizwan said. “If we don’t judge him by those extreme expectations, you’ll find he’s still chipping in and contributing valuably for us.

“As a captain, I expect a lot more of him too because of all he has done in the past. There is obviously an additional pressure because of it and I’m sure he feels that too. But if you look at his innings in South Africa, [he is still scoring runs]. It’s not as if he has clear technical deficiencies, but he is still being tested. I am confident he’ll come out of it.”

“When Abdullah Shafique got out early in South Africa, Babar had to deal with the new ball anyway. He was coping with the seam and swing and enabling us to attack at the end. So, we thought why not go for our most technically solid player to open, rather than throwing someone else in at the deep end”

Mohammad Rizwan

“We have other players who can open if we need them to. Saim Ayub was a huge all-round blow for us, including in the field because he was one of our best fielders, opened the batting, and could bowl eight or so overs.

“His absence created a huge disturbance, and we went for the safety of Babar Azam, who’s our best batter. At the top, if the ball swings, he can control it. When Abdullah Shafique got out early in South Africa, Babar had to deal with the new ball anyway. He was coping with the seam and swing and enabling us to attack at the end. So, we thought why not go for our most technically solid player to open, rather than throwing someone else in at the deep end.”