Asia Cup 2022: “When Mohammad Rizwan gets dismissed early, the middle order has no plan at all” - Salman Butt on Pakistan’s batting concerns

Salman Butt has admitted Pakistan’s batting form is a matter of concern heading into the Asia Cup 2022 final against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Sunday, September 11. The former Pakistan opener stated that skipper Babar Azam’s struggles have hurt the team’s fortunes since he has been the most consistent batter in the side.

Pakistan went down to Sri Lanka by five wickets in the Super 4 clash on Friday, September 9, in Dubai. Sent into bat after losing the toss, their batters came up with a shoddy performance as the entire team was bundled out for 121. The Lankans chased down the target in 17 overs.

Reflecting on Pakistan’s lackluster batting, Butt acknowledged that it was not great news ahead of the final. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said:

“There are growing concerns with regard to Pakistan’s batting. Babar Azam has had a poor tournament. Also, when Mohammad Rizwan gets dismissed early, which has happened in a couple of games, it seems like the middle order has no plan at all.”

Questioning the constant shuffle in the middle order, Butt added:

“What kind of a middle order is this? Sometimes Mohammad Nawaz is promoted, sometimes Shadab Khan. They are power-hitters for namesake. It seems they feel their role is to score runs in two to three overs. If this is the mindset, then it is disturbing and it is not helpful for them. They are capable players, who have scored runs in domestic cricket.”

Rizwan is Pakistan’s leading run-getter in the Asia Cup 2022, with 226 runs at an average of 56.50. No other batter from the team has totaled 100 runs so far.

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“The fluency in his batting is missing” - Salman Butt on Babar Azam’s below par performance

Pakistan skipper Babar went into the Asia Cup as one of the team’s batting trump cards. However, he has had an abysmal tournament so far.

In five matches, he has scored 63 runs at an average of 12.60. Analyzing the opener’s woes with the willow, Butt commented:

“Babar is struggling a bit. The fluency in his batting is missing. As the runs began to dry up, it seems the pressure started building on him. He has been scoring runs consistently for a long time, so hopefully, in the final, he will deliver.

“Pakistan have got so used to him scoring runs that, when he fails, fans think nothing has happened. Babar needs to be positive.”

Babar has registered scores of 10, nine, 14, 0 and 30 in the Asia Cup so far.