Pakistan cricket team was dealt a huge blow as captain, Babar Azam, wasruled out of the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand. His absence atthe top has posed a selection dilemma for the management. The like ofAbdullah Shafique, Haider Ali, and Mohammad Rizwan are rumored candidatesto open the batting in Babar’s absence.——————————

According to sources, Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique are likely toopen the innings for Pakistan, with Haider Ali set to retain his positionat one-down. Sources have claimed that Mohammad Rizwan was already beinglined-up as Babar’s opening partner, meanwhile, Abdullah was set to sit outof the starting eleven. Babar’s exit has now opened up a slot for AbdullahShafique.

Babar Azam suffered a fracture in his right thumb in a practice session inQueenstown on Sunday morning and has been advised by the doctors to takerest for at least 12 to 14 days, which puts his place in the first Testunder doubt as well.

Abdullah Shafique made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe a couple of monthsago, scoring an impressive 41* on 33 balls as he guided Pakistan to aseries victory. Rizwan, on the other hand, has been a part of the T20Isquad since 2015 but has failed to impress so far. His career stats havebeen far from impressive, scoring 185 runs at an average of 16.81 and astrike rate of 96.35 in 23 matches.——————————

Rizwan has never opened the batting for Pakistan in T20Is, although he didopen for KP in the recently concluded National T20 Cup.