Pakistan Team Preview T20 World Cup 2022: Despite Superb Openers, Pakistan Middle Order May Drag the Team Down

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Last Updated:October 18, 2022, 22:02 IST

Pakistan Team Preview T20 World Cup 2022: Contrasting to their opening pair they have one of the weakest middle-order which got exposed in Asia Cup 2022 followed by T20I series against England.

Pakistan will have their task cut out when they take on India in the T20 World Cup opener.

Babar Azam and Co. will enter the T20 World Cup as one of the favourites in the Australian conditions. With a potent pace attack, Pakistan have the right ammunition to exploit the Australian conditions which offer pace and bounce. In the last couple of years, Pakistan have managed to rebuild their reputation as top side in world cricket and they showed it in the last year’s T20 World Cup. They reached the semifinals and lost to Australia in a thrilling contest. However, players like Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi set the stage on fire in the UAE.

They have probably one of the best opening pairs in T20 cricket at the moment in Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan but the struggle lies in the middle order. Contrasting to their opening pair they have one of the weakest middle-order which got exposed in Asia Cup 2022 followed by the T20I series against England.

Meanwhile, the return of Shaheen Afridi is going to boost Pakistan’s pace attack for sure. Shaheen is one of the best in the business at the moment and all eyes will be on him when he returned to competitive cricket on October 23 against India after recovering from a knee injury

How they fared last time?

Pakistan had a dominant run in the group stage of last year’s T20 World Cup where they beat arch-rivals India which was their first-ever win over them in World Cup events. They remained unbeaten in the group stage but suffered a defeat to Australia in the semifinals. Matthew Wade broke the heart of the Pakistan team by smashing Afridi for three consecutive sixes to seal the place in the final.

Also Read | ‘Shami Bhaii, Kaise Hain?’: Shaheen Shah Afridi Meets India Pacer as Both Bowlers Train Together at The Gabba

Players to watch out for

Babar Azam – The Pakistan skipper has to play a crucial for his team once again in the mega ICC event. His opening partner Rizwan takes some time to get settled and he played big shots in the death overs, in that case, Babar has to take the charge of the first ball to put pressure on the position. The 28-year-old has played just three T20Is in Australia in which he scored 115 runs at a strike rate of 138.55.

Haris Rauf – All eyes will be on Afridi but it will be Rauf who might turn out as a trump card for the Pakistan team as he has a big experience of playing in Australian conditions in the Big Bash League. He has claimed 30 wickets in 18 matches for Melbourne Stars. The 28-year-old has all the credentials including the ability to clock 150kph at regular intervals to succeed in T20 World Cup. He has also the ability to bowl bouncers and yorkers at will.

Strongest Playing XI

Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Full Squad

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood. Standby Players: Usman Qadir, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani.

Pakistan Fixtures

v India (October 23) – Melbourne

v Winner Group B (October 27) – Perth

v Runner-up Group A (October 29) – Perth

v South Africa (November 3) – Sydney

v Bangladesh (November 6) – Adelaide