During the Pakistan Super League (PSL) match between Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans, Ramiz Raja, the former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has named the two players he believes are best suited to open for the national T20 team.
Multan beat Peshawar easily by 56 runs in the fifth PSL game on Friday at the Multan Cricket Ground.
Saim Ayub and Mohammad Haris played devastating innings, and in a video on his YouTube channel, Ramiz Talks, he said: “Look, these two have fantastic potential, and I think these two are the future opening pair of Pakistan T20I side.”
They sometimes forget that you don’t play such innings for the gallery but rather you have to sustain it and win the match for your side, he added, adding that getting out after putting in the hard effort and establishing the tempo is an insult to their abilities.
It should be mentioned that Peshawar won their opening PSL match against Karachi Kings but lost their second game to Multan Sultans by a score of 56 runs on Friday at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
Being allowed to bat first, the host team set a lofty 211-run total before limiting the Babar Azam-led team to 154 runs in 18.2 overs, helped by Rilee Rossouw’s explosive 75-run innings and some outstanding bowling from Usama Mir and Ihsanullah, whom each took three wickets.
Raja also gave insight into Peshawar’s team, asserting that the Yellow Storm’s bowling is the reason they are losing behind.
“Multan Sultans played well at home, and a target of 210 runs is impossible for any batting side, therefore Peshawar’s story of the match was painful. Peshawar Zalmi is having issues since their bowling attack is weak. Also, pressure is put on the batting order if the bowling is not strong, he added.
Their batting lineup performed admirably for the first six or seven overs, but after losing three wickets, they lost control of the match and their tempo.
“Peshawar’s net run rate will be greatly impacted by the margin of error, which will cause issues during the qualifying period. They will need to strengthen their batting more if they stick with the same bowling lineup.” It is important to note that Sherfane Rutherford, who was forced to withdraw from the tournament because of an injury, was replaced by Dasun Shananka, the captain of Sri Lanka.
The inclusion of the all-rounder will strengthen Peshawar’s bowling and batting teams.
On Monday, February 20, at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi, Zalmi will face the Quetta Gladiator
