The recent underwhelming performances by Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam fueled discussions about his role as an opener for the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's Champions ...

Babar has struggled across formats for a while now and though his form in ODIs - arguably his strongest format - has not fallen away as sharply as in the other two, it is down considerably.

While Imam-ul-Haq would have been a natural replacement, boasting an impressive ODI record of 3,138 runs at an average of 48.27, the team management has instead entrusted Babar Azam with this ...