Pakistan is set to kick off their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against co-hosts USA in Texas this Thursday. Following a recent 2-0 defeat against England in a T20I series, the 2022 runners-up are gearing up for redemption. Despite their struggles against England, Babar Azam and his team remain formidable contenders for the T20 World Cup title. Yet, West Indies great Ian Bishop has advised the 2009 champions to "shift their approach" to enhance their performance.
During the series against England, Pakistan experimented with young batsman Saim Ayub as an opener alongside Mohammad Rizwan. Bishop suggests that instead of sticking to the usual pair of Babar and Rizwan, Pakistan should entrust their young talents with the opening positions, indicating a need for a change in strategy to optimise their performance.
"If you're asking me what I want versus what will happen to Pakistan, I will tell you that I need and hope that down the road, I don't know if it's immediate but down the road guys like Saim Ayub, I know Mohammad Harris is not in the reckoning right now, but he's another young man. They've left back at home I think until for T-20 cricket. But these guys are still very young and living the way," Bishop said on Star Sports.
"So, the experience of Babar and Rizwan, they probably will go back there. But again, that's a template that needs to change with those two players who I think from what we've seen T20 cricket going to even in a World Cup of challenging pitches, need to shift another gear up in the way they approach their batting," he further added.
In addition to this, Pakistan's wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan has faced backlash from fans and former players due to his lacklustre performance in the recently concluded T20I series against England. Azam managed to score only 11 runs across the two matches he played, and his performance behind the stumps also came under scrutiny as he missed a few straightforward catches.
Following their encounter with the USA, Pakistan will face off against their arch-rivals India in their next Group A match on Sunday in New York.