Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has said that it was a bad decision from selectors to make Babar Azam open in the Champions Trophy and the decision-makers should apologise to the country for the same. The Pakistan side, which has been going through a tough time, lost to New Zealand by a whopping 73 runs. After a 4-1 hammering in the T20I series, one would expect that Pakistan would put up a better performance in the ODI series with the return of Babar, Mohammad Rizwan and Naseem Shah, but that didn’t happen. Basit Ali did not mince his words while speaking on Pakistan’s embarrassing outing against New Zealand in Napier on Saturday, March 29. “Why did Babar play at number three? He came to open in the Champions Trophy. Where are those professors who said he should open? They should apologise to the nation. Nobody will come out now,” Basit Ali said while speaking on his YouTube channel. “Those who try to become cricket professors should be hit with boots,” Basit Ali said. Basit Ali identified the factor behind their sharp decline over the last few years. He did not spill the name but hinted that the person responsible for the side’s current condition is the one who turned Babar and Rizwan into openers. “The person who made Babar and Rizwan openers is responsible for destroying Pakistan cricket. The Pakistan team has become a franchise team. It is a team based on preferences,” Basit Ali said. On Saturday, Mark Chapman struck a sublime hundred, and Nathan Smith bagged four wickets as New Zealand eased to a 73-run victory over Pakistan. Chapman’s career-best 132 formed the foundation of an imposing 344/9 at McLean Park before Pakistan’s promising chase capitulated, to be all out for 271 in the 45th over. Pakistan looked on track at 249/3, at that point requiring 96 runs to win, with over 11 overs remaining. Pacer Smith helped to spark a late collapse, with the last seven wickets falling for just 22 runs. Rizwan lamented a lack of contribution from his lower order, with the bottom six batters scoring just three runs between them.