ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Babar Azam names a 12-man squad for the clash against India
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has announced a 12-man squad for their high-voltage clash at the World T20 against India in Dubai. The 26-year old star batsman revealed the same through a pre-match press conference on Saturday.
India and Pakistan will open their campaigns on Sunday as the latter hopes to break their World Cup jinx against their arch-rivals.
Babar Azam will captain the men in green as most of the players pick themselves. However, it would be interesting to see if Haider Ali finds a place instead of Mohammad Hafeez, who hasn't performed as per expectations in the practice games.
Pakistan have named a 12-man squad for tomorrow's match versus India:
Babar Azam
M Rizwan
Fakhar Zaman
M Hafeez
Shoaib Malik
Asif Ali
Shadab Khan
Imad Wasim
Hassan Ali
Shaheen Afridi
Haris Rauf
Haider Ali
#INDvPAK #T20WorldCup
Hafeez notched up scores of 0 and 13 in the practice matches against the West Indies and South Africa. In contrast, Ali was unfortunate not to have the opportunity to bat in the warm-up games after being drafted into the squad at the last hour.
Ali and Sarfaraz Ahmed were part of the last-minute changes that Pakistan carried out following their performances in the domestic tournament. The youngster ended the domestic T20 Cup as the fifth-highest run-getter, scoring 317 runs in eight games at 63.40.
Shoaib Malik, who replaced the injured Sohaib Maqsood, is likely to keep his place. Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi seem certainties as new-ball bowlers, while Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim are likely to play as frontline spinners.
Babar Azam confident of Pakistan beating India on Sunday
During another press conference, Azam claimed that their past record hardly matters and they are focussing on the future. The right-handed batsman said their morale heading into the game is good and they are optimistic of playing good cricket.
"When you go into a big tournament, what matters is your belief, the confidence you have within the group. As a team, our confidence and morale is very high. Past is gone, we are not thinking about it rather we are focusing on the future. I am confident that we are well prepared and will play good cricket in the match."
However, for Pakistan to win, their opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan must click as their middle-order is feeble. Their success at the top of the order will be central to the national team's success.