The struggles of stalwarts Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi have come under the spotlight as Pakistan eye a winning start to their T20 World Cup Super Eight campaign against New Zealand at the R. Premadasa Stadium here on Saturday.

While Babar failed to deliver in his newly-assumed number four role — barring a decent outing against the USA — during the group stage, Shaheen has emerged as one of Pakistan’s weaker links throughout the tournament so far.

The duo may well take a back seat against the BlackCaps, with the less experienced yet promising Khawaja Nafay and Salman Mirza expected to be entrusted with middle-order batting and new-ball bowling duties, respectively.

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