T20 World Cup 2022: "They want to continue opening the batting at any cost and maintain their rankings" - Danish Kaneria blasts Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for being selfish

Former spinner Danish Kaneria has criticized Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for playing a selfish brand of cricket at the T20 World Cup 2022.

The Men in Green's semi-final qualification hopes have taken a serious hit following India's defeat to South Africa on Sunday, October 30. They need to win both of their remaining matches and hope for multiple other results to go their way to avoid an early exit.

A primary problem for Pakistan has been their opening combination. The stalwarts at the top, who hold high ranks in the ICC's T20I rankings for batters, are yet to fire in this tournament.

Azam, in particular, has struggled, scoring just eight runs across three matches so far. While Rizwan was able to get among the runs during Pakistan's win over the Netherlands, he failed to get going in their first two games.

The team decided to switch things up a little with the inclusion of Fakhar Zaman following defeats in their first two Super 12s matches. However, the opening combination still remained the same.

Accusing Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan of playing for themselves rather than the team, Danish Kaneria said on his YouTube channel:

"(2:29) Pakistan played Fakhar Zaman, but he came in at No. 3, but Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan do not want to leave their spot at the top of the order, they do not want their ranking to go down."

Kaneria continued:

"They do not want to relinquish their spot, they do not care about the Pakistani team. They want to continue opening the batting at any cost and maintain their rankings."

Despite a lean tournament so far, Rizwan is still the No.1 ranked T20I batter in the world. However, the in-form Suryakumar Yadav and Devon Conway are catching up.

Meanwhile, Azam, who featured in the top three for a significant while, has now slid to the fourth spot on account of his poor form as of late.

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"I cannot bear to see the way Pakistan are playing" - Danish Kaneria

The Men in Green are in a precarious position at the T20 World Cup 2022. Having entered the tournament as one of the favorites, they fell to last-ball defeats against both India and Zimbabwe to put their last-four hopes in jeopardy.

Danish Kaneria stated his displeasure with the way Pakistan have approached their games and said:

"(3:00) Pakistan are expecting other teams to win or lose, to turn things in their favor. Credit to Bangladesh for defeating a team like Zimbabwe, who defeated a team like Pakistan. I cannot bear to see the way Pakistan are playing and the performances they are delivering."

Kaneria added:

"(O:57) It was a set of low-scoring matches in Perth. Pakistan were selfish, they waited for India's result. So, they are almost out of the World Cup."

Pakistan notched their first-ever T20I win in Australia with a six-wicket triumph over the Netherlands in Perth. Babar Azam's side will face South Africa and Bangladesh in the coming days to wrap up their Super 12s campaign.

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