"You broke the opening pair that was famous worldwide" - Ramiz Raja blasts management for splitting Rizwan-Babar combination

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has criticized the team management for splitting the opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand.

The duo formed the most prolific opening pair in T20I history, with 2400 runs at an average of almost 49. However, they are among the bottom feeders in scoring rates among T20I openers, causing the need for a reshuffle.

Babar has batted at No. 3 in the first three games of the New Zealand series, with youngster Saim Ayub partnering Rizwan at the top. After a quick-fire 33 off 14 deliveries in the opening T20I, the newly formed pair have struggled with partnerships of 8 and 23 in the subsequent two games.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Raja questioned the reasoning behind breaking up the Babar-Rizwan opening pair.

"So much pressure was created to break the opening pair of Babar and Rizwan. After breaking the opening partnership, which was evaluated based on the strike rate. When you bring in new players, they may perform well in leagues, but international cricket is a different beast where there is pressure, and the focus of the entire world is on you. You broke the opening pair that was famous worldwide," said Raja.

He added:

"Either you have workshop of trained openers behind you who are gradually being introduced, when you have no other options. It takes time to form an opening pair. It's not an easy task. So, if you have a pair, and they consistently kept you in the field during matches, what benefit did you get after breaking it?"

Despite the new opening partnership not being able to produce results, Babar has found his mojo at No. 3. The former skipper has scored a hat-trick of half-centuries in the ongoing series, albeit in losing efforts as Pakistan trail 0-3 with two games remaining.

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"I support every captain" - Ramiz Raja

Ramiz Raja has been highly supportive of Babar Azam despite criticism from other quarters.

Ramiz Raja also responded to the accusations of being in biased in favor of Babar Azam. He stated that his support is not specifically for any individual but for anyone who captains the Pakistan side.

Babar led Pakistan in 134 matches across formats and won 78 games with a winning percentage of over 58. Yet, criticism over many of his tactical decisions, coupled with his dwindling batting form, during last year's ODI World Cup led to him relinquishing the role in all three formats.

"The accusation made against me was that I backed Babar Azam. I support every captain because their role is to lead not just on the field during the game, but also extends to off the field as well," stated Raja.

Pakistan named Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi as Babar's replacements to lead the side in Tests and T20Is respectively. However, the duo have gotten off to a torrid start.

The side lost 0-3 to Australia in the recent Test series under Masood. The Men in Green also trail by the same margin to New Zealand in Afridi's first assignment as T20I captain.