Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan has strongly indicated that Babar Azam will open the innings during the tri-series opener set to take place against New Zealand on Saturday in Lahore. With the reporter requesting the keeper-batter to disclose the opening combination, he responded by saying the words, 'King Kar Lega'.
The phrase 'King kar lega' was first used by pacer Hasan Ali during an interaction in July 2024, indicating that Babar can thrive in any situation. However, it's worth noting that Babar has opened only twice in ODI cricket, scoring a best of 22. However, the move from the management likely comes due to Saim Ayub's absence as the 22-year-old is nursing an ankle injury.
Below is the video of Rizwan's moment from the press conference on Friday and said:
"Iske jawaab mein woh baat ki thi na, 'King kar lega'." (The answer is, there was a line 'King will do it'.)
Mohammad Rizwan assures Pakistan will not use Saim Ayub's absence as an excuse
Addressing Ayub's absence, the 32-year-old said the youngster is a complete package across facets and believes their planning has slightly been disturbed due to his absence. Rizwan said, as quoted by Geo Sports:
"Look, we all know how well Saim Ayub performed recently. It was exceptional, considering the conditions and oppositions he flared against. Anyway, his void is in the team because he is such a package for Pakistan who can be fit anywhere be it his bowling, fielding or batting. You can also that our planning got disturbed but we should not be focusing on the names but on the process. So, his void is there but the process remained the same for us and it will not be an excuse for us."
Ayub played a critical role in Pakistan's recent ODI series wins in Australia and South Africa.
