Shahid Afridi tells Babar Azam that he needs to move down the list.

Former captain Shahid Afridi believes Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam should stand aside and give Mohammad Haris his opener slot in Wednesday’s T20 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.

Pakistan, the 2009 champions, appeared to be out of the competition until the Netherlands stunned South Africa on Sunday.

Mohammad Rizwan and Babar entered the tournament as the top two T20 batters, but neither has scored a fifty so far. Rizwan has scored at a run-a-ball rate, while Pakistan’s top batsman, Babar, has a strike rate of 61.90.

Both will have to up their game in the first semi-final in Sydney against last year’s runners-up, New Zealand. On Thursday, India will face England in the second semi-final in Adelaide.

Former all-rounder Shahid Afridi told a private TV channel, “Babar Azam needs to listen to suggestions.”

“With fielding restrictions, we must use Mohammad Haris.” Babar Azam should be relegated to third place.”

Afridi believes Pakistan’s top order should be as intent and aggressive as middle-order batsmen Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood.

“When you look at Iftikhar or Shan Masood, you can see in their body language that they want to hit the ball.” That kind of intent, that kind of cricket, is what we need.

“What’s the point of scoring 30 or 35 run-a-balls if you can’t finish the game with that many deliveries?” The 42-year-old continued.