The Pakistan cricket team received a big gift from the Netherlands on Sunday as the European side knocked out South Africa from the T20 World Cup. South Africa's defeat gave Pakistan a golden opportunity to beat Bangladesh and qualify for the semi-final, and fair to say Babar Azam & Co. didn't let the chance slip by. After Pakistan successfully marched into the knockouts, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi made a big request to Babar for the semi-finals of the tournament.
Heading into the final Super 12 matchday, South Africa needed to beat the Netherlands to qualify for the next round but they put in a shambolic performance. Seeing South Africa crash out, the Pakistan vs Zimbabwe match became a virtual knockout game.
Pakistan secured a straight-forward win over Bangladesh in their final Group 2 match. But, Afridi still isn't convinced of the team's plan going forward and has asked Babar to make a big chance change.
In a tweet, Afridi urged the Pakistan skipper to demote himself to the No. 3 spot in the batting order and let Mohammad Haris open alongside Mohammad Rizwan.
"@babarazam258 We need fire power at the top with batters who are showing clear intent like Haris and Shahdab. Plz consider Haris opening with Riz and you one down followed by ur next best hitter. You should be rigid on winning the match and flexible on a balanced batting line up," Afridi wrote.
"Yeh cheez! Well done boys and excited to see how Haris in the mix, and the entire bowling inning was the best in todays match specially Shaheen. Mubarak to all of Pakistan," another tweet from Afridi after Pakistan's win read.
Pakistan will now face New Zealand on Wednesday in the first semi-final at Sydney.