Opening in cricket is a tough responsibility. If the openers provide a good, start they set the stage for middle-order batters while losing wickets cheaply puts pressure on the batting order.
In the recent past, Pakistan’s left-handed opening pair, Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman have earned plaudits for their excellent performances. They are piling up runs and have earned accolades for their batting performances.
In this article, we take a look at six of Pakistan’s top left-handed openers including legendary Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail. As Fakhar and Imam have not played enough cricket yet, here are the stats of all these players in the first fifty matches.
Saeed Anwar
Saeed Anwar is regarded as one of the most stylish cricketers in the history of cricket. He started his ODI career in 1989 but he rose to prominence in 1993 when he made four ODI centuries including three consecutive tons in Sharjah.
The left-handed opener piled up 1,616 runs in the first fifty ODIs at an average of 35.13. He also scored 6 centuries and 3 half-centuries while his highest score of 131 came against West Indies in 1993.
Aamir Sohail
Aamir Sohail started his international ODI career in 1990 against Sri Lanka and was an important member of the 1992 World Cup squad where he scored 326 runs at an average of 32.60.
In the first fifty matches, Sohail mustered 1,611 runs at an average of 32.87 and smashed 2 centuries and 10 fifties. His highest ODI knock was 134 runs, which he smacked in an encounter against New Zealand in 1993-94.
Imran Farhat
Imran Farhat made his debut in 2001 but was sent back to domestic cricket soon after. Farhat was added to the squad against New Zealand two years later where he made three fifties and one century, ending with 348 runs while Pakistan white-washed the BlackCaps by 5-0.
In the first fifty matches for Pakistan as an opener, Farhat scored 1,493 runs at an average of 31.10. He also hit one century and 12 fifties while his highest score was 107 against New Zealand.
Salman Butt
Salman Butt started his ODI career in the year 2004 against West Indies. He had an upper hand against India as he registered 5 ODI centuries in 21 innings with an average of 52.
In the first fifty matches, Butt mustered 1,889 runs at an average of 38.35. He also smacked 6 centuries and 7 half-centuries. His ODI score of 136 runs came in a game against Bangladesh in 2008.
Fakhar Zaman
Fakhar Zaman made his ODI debut in the year 2017 against South Africa in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and played a crucial role in winning the trophy for Pakistan. He is the fastest batter to score 1,000 runs in ODIs and the only double-century scorer for Pakistan.
While batting as an opener in the first fifty matches, he scored 2,262 runs at an average of 49.17. Fakhar also smacked 6 centuries and 13 half-centuries while his highest knock in ODI is 210 runs, which he hit in a match against Zimbabwe in 2018.
Imam-ul-Haq
Having stepped into ODI cricket back in 2018, Imam-ul-Haq is the second batter for Pakistan and thirteenth overall to score a hundred on his debut. He is one of the consistent performers in current Pakistan setup and has a number of records to his name in a short career thus far.
Although he has participated in 49 ODIs so far, he is the leading run-scorer on the list. Imam has scored 2,321 runs at an average of 53.97. He has also scored 9 hundreds and 11 fifties while his highest score is 151 against England in 2019.
| Opener | Runs | Average | 100s | 50s | Best |
| Imam-ul-Haq | 2,321 | 53.97 | 9 | 11 | 151 |
| Fakhar Zaman | 2,262 | 49.17 | 6 | 13 | 210 |
| Salman Butt | 1,889 | 38.35 | 6 | 7 | 136 |
| Saeed Anwar | 1,616 | 35.13 | 6 | 3 | 131 |
| Aamir Sohail | 1,611 | 32.87 | 2 | 10 | 134 |
| Imran Farhat | 1,493 | 31.10 | 1 | 12 | 107 |
Stats cann be so misleading. Comparing the likes of these with all-time legend is a sin. Another thing to be taken into account is the quality of the opposition and the playing conditions. With such heavy bats of today, Saeed Anwar would have murdered the kind of opposition these kids are thrashing today.