Pakistan trail New Zealand 0-4 in 5-match T20I series.
He was talking about Babar Azam being shifted from the opening position to the no.3 spot to accommodate young Saim Ayub at the top. With the scores of 27, 1, 10, and 1, Saim Ayub, Rizwan's new opening partner, has under-delivered at the top.
Babar Azam scored three back-to-back fifties in the series and Rizwan made 90 in the 4th T20I. Rizwan said that the team is trying different combinations ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup and the losses will come in the way.
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"Yes, you can say the split has hurt us (Nuksaan hua hai). The team management and the captain talked to us (me and Babar). Mohammad Hafeez also talked to us. Babar bhai has a big heart. We both agreed on the decision to split the opening pair and said there was no issue.
The whole nation thought we had a good thing (partnership) going at the top of the batting order. But the management is working on the best that can be achieved from this team. Hafeez and Shaheen never said they wouldn't ever partner up at the top in the future. They are trying different combinations and looking for the best," Rizwan said in a post-match conference.
Not only, Rizwan, but former Pakistan captain and PCB chief Ramiz Raja had slammed the move to break the opening partnership of Babar and Rizwan.
"So much pressure was created to break the opening pair of Babar and Rizwan. After breaking the opening partnership, which was evaluated based on the strike rate. When you bring in new players, they may perform well in leagues, but international cricket is a different beast where there is pressure, and the focus of the entire world is on you. You broke the opening pair that was famous worldwide," said Raja.
Pakistan currently trails 0-4 in the 5-match T20I series against New Zealand. The final match of the series will be played on January 21 in Christchurch.
(Times of India inputs)