3 takeaways from Pakistan's 2024 T20 World Cup squad
Pakistan's 2024 T20 World Cup squad came out a few days ago. The Men in Green have formed a squad full of PSL superstars. Babar Azam will captain the team once again, with several top-quality talents like Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Imad Wasim, and Mohammad Amir also present in the squad.
Pakistan will open their campaign against co-hosts USA on June 6 in Dallas. After that, the Men in Green will lock horns with arch-rivals India in New York, followed by clashes against Canada and Ireland.
In the last two T20 World Cups, Pakistan made it to the knockout rounds. They lost to Australia in the semifinals of the 2021 T20 World Cup, while in 2022, they suffered a defeat at the hands of England in the summit clash.
Before the 2024 T20 World Cup starts, here's a quick glance at the three takeaways from Pakistan's squad for the mega event.
#1 Mohammad Amir returns to 2024 T20 World Cup after 8 years
The last time Mohammad Amir played a T20 World Cup match for Pakistan was back in the year 2016. India hosted the mega event that year, and the left-arm pacer scalped three wickets in four matches at a decent economy rate of 7.87.
Amir continued to be an integral part of Pakistan's T20I squad until 2020. In the final phase of 2020, he shockingly announced retirement from international cricket owing to some issues with the team management. He was retired while Pakistan played in T20 World Cup 2021 and 2022.
Now, after an eight-year break, Amir is all set to don the green jersey at the grand stage of T20 World Cup. He has already played seven T20Is this year, picking up five wickets at an economy rate of 8.78. It will be interesting to see if he can produce an extraordinary performance for his country in the upcoming mega event.
#2 PSL's star all-rounders will hold the key to Pakistan's success in 2024 T20 World Cup
Pakistan have three all-rounders in their squad, namely Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi and Imad Wasim. All three all-rounders have done a phenomenal job for their respective franchises in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Besides, Khan, Afridi and Wasim were also a part of the Pakistan squad that destroyed almost every team they came across in the 2021 T20 World Cup's Super 12 round. Pakistan fans will hope that the high-profile names deliver for the country at the grand stage.
#3 Pakistan will aim for big hits at the 2024 T20 World Cup
The 2024 T20 World Cup will take place in USA and West Indies. Batters, who can clear the boundaries with their might, can achieve enormous success here, and Pakistan have stacked up their squad with big-hitters.
Iftikhar Ahmed has already proven himself as a game-changer in T20 World Cups. The Men in Green also have Usman Khan, who left UAE for a career in Pakistan, and Saim Ayub, who has hit over 100 sixes in T20 cricket.
Even Azam Khan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, and Imad Wasim have the ability to hit sixes in the slog overs. The aggressive approach will benefit Pakistan a lot.