“Let Babar Azam play at No. 3 in Champions Trophy” - Ex-Pakistan captain gives 3 options for 2nd opener after experiment flops again in tri-series

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez has suggested three new openers after Babar Azam failed to deliver at the top of the order in his third consecutive innings in the ODI tri-series final on Friday, February 14.

The right-hander departed for 29 runs off 34 balls against New Zealand in the final, which is underway in Karachi. The 30-year-old had earlier perished for 10 (23) and 23 (19) against the Kiwis and South Africa, respectively.

Hafeez wants one of Shan Masood, Imam-ul-Haq, or Abdullah Shafique to be Fakhar Zaman’s opening partner in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. The 44-year-old stressed that Babar should return to the No. 3 spot.

Hafeez wrote on X:

“1- Shaan Masood, 2- Imam-ul-Haq, 3- Abdullah Shafique. Take any one as opener & let Babar Azam play at no 3 in Champions trophy. Make things easier for everyone.”

Interestingly, all the aforementioned three batters failed to make a cut for the Champions Trophy. Notably, Imam-ul-Haq was the opener when Pakistan won the last edition of the tournament in England.

Shan Masood in ODIs: 163 runs in nine ODIs @18.11, including one half-century

Abdullah Shafique in ODIs: 612 runs in 21 ODIs @32.21, including one century and six fifties

Imam-ul-Haq in ODIs: 3138 runs in 72 ODIs @48.27, including nine centuries and 20 fifties.

Imam played his last ODI at the 2023 World Cup. Masood played his last 50-over game in May 2023, while Shafique last featured for Pakistan in the ODI series against South Africa last year.

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Babar Azam’s experiment as ODI opener flops again

As far as Babar Azam is concerned, the ongoing tri-series wasn’t the first time he was tried as an opener. The Lahore-born batter previously opened in two ODIs against England in 2015, returning with scores of four and 22.

Babar’s failures came even as he has a great track record as an opener in T20Is. He has amassed 2973 runs in 87 innings, including three centuries and 25 fifties.

In ODIs, he fares best at No. 3, where has made the bulk of his scores. The right-hander has 5416 runs in 104 innings, comprising 19 tons and 29 half-centuries.

Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Pakistan's Group Stage Fixtures:

19 February - Pakistan vs New Zealand, Karachi

23 February - Pakistan vs India, Dubai

27 February - Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Rawalpindi