• “Pakistan is relying heavily on Babar and Rizwan,” Inzamam says.
• Inzamam says team to be in difficult situation if duo does not perform.
• Pakistan’s next warm-up match is against South Africa on Oct 20.

Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam ul Haq did not like the way captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan played in their recent warm-up match against West Indies.

The Babar Azam-led Pakistan squad beat West Indies by seven wickets through an all-out team effort in their warm-up match for the ICC T20 World Cup in Dubai on Monday.

“Babar and Rizwan have played exceedingly well in the last couple of years but I still feel that they should increase their strike rate,” Inzamam said on his YouTube channel after the match had wrapped up.

“Pakistan is relying heavily on Babar and Rizwan. If they don’t score at a good strike rate, the team will find itself in a difficult situation,” he added. “They need to take advantage of the first six overs, especially in matches against good teams.” 

The skipper smashed a half-century off 41 balls, while the wicket-keeper was able to score 13 runs off 17 balls as the Men In Green completed the 131-run target in 15.3 overs.

“Pakistan chased down the total with more than three overs to spare but that was largely due to Fakhar Zaman’s 24-ball 46,” the former Pakistan captain said.

Pakistan’s next warm-up match is against South Africa on October 20, before the Men in Green begin their World Cup campaign against India on October 24 and then face New Zealand on October 26.