- Name: Pakistan
- Captain: Babar Azam
- Head Coach: Misbah ul Haq
- Squad members: 15 + 3 reserves
- Best result: Champions in T20 WC 2009
- WT20 2016 result: Group stage
One of the strongest teams going into the 2021 T20 World Cup because they’ve had UAE as their home ground since a decade now. Pakistan had a few surprising exclusions in their preliminary squad but then they balanced it out when they made four changes to the final squad recently. They’ve also included former Aussie opener Matthew Hayden and South African bowler Vernon Philander to the coaching team.
SEE ALSO: List of the top online sports betting websites
It’s been months since Fakhar Zaman got a fifty across tournaments and formats and though he was dropped from the original Pakistan squad for the T20 World Cup, he was added back to it along with Sarfaraz Ahmed and Haider Ali, the latter also getting three fifties in 8 games for his regional side at the 2021 National T20 Cup in Pakistan! Sarfaraz is unlikely to be the first-choice wicket-keeper in this tournament.
The three of them replaced Azam Khan, Mohammad Hasnain and Khushdil Shah in the Pakistan squad, with the latter still travelling with the side as he’s one of three reserves players. Shahnawaz Dahani is also one of the reserves and honestly, I’d have liked him to be a part of the 15-man squad. With 20 wickets in 11 games, he was the highest wicket-taker in PSL 2021, with half the season being played in the UE itself.
SEE ALSO: List of fantasy sports websites in India
Another forced change was that of Shoaib Malik joining the squad and the 39-year old will be featuring in his sixth T20 World Cup, having led them to victory in the 2009 T20 World Cup as well. He replaces Sohaib Maqsood as the middle-order batsman sustained an injury during the 2021 National T20 Cup. Malik is one of the highest T20 run scorers in the world and given all his experience, he should slot into the playing eleven.
Right at the top, they have a wizard with the bat in captain Babar Azam who has been scoring across all tournaments and formats and the same can be said about his opening partner and first-choice wicket-keeper who has been in brilliant form over the last 12-15 months. We’re talking about Mohammad Rizwan and if opponent teams can pick up these openers early in the game, there’s a chance to attack the middle order.
Azam is in scintillating form and his last 5 innings in the National T20 Cup includes two fifties and a century score of 105*. With the ball, we expect pacers to be better on these UAE pitches and Shaheen Shah Afridi is obviously one to watch out for while the real x-factor player according to me will be Hasan Ali who has been in and out of the Pakistan squad over the last year or so and he has plenty to prove to his critics.
Pakistan – T20 World Cup 2021 Betting
While they are one of the favourites to win the T20 World Cup 2020, remember that they’ve got a really tough group with the likes of New Zealand, India and Afghanistan in their group. India is also one of the tournament favourites while New Zealand has reached the finals of the last two 50-over World Cups, so they won’t be easy to get past either. Against India, they are way behind in T20I head to head count, trailing 1-7 while they’ve dominated New Zealand in this format, leading 14-10.
I was most disappointed to see Iftikhar Ahmed being left out of the Pakistan squad but he had his chances and failed each time. To provide the impetus with the bat in the middle order, there’s Asif Ali who also hasn’t lived up to potential in recent months but he can be a real game changer on his day. Imad Wasim will also play another very crucial role less with the bat but with those couple of overs he bowls during the powerplay.
PAKISTAN T20 World Cup 2021 squad: Babar Azam (C), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi. RESERVES: Khushdil Shah, Usman Qadir, Shahnawaz Dahani.
While I’m not the biggest fan of Shadab Khan as an international cricketer, he has been named as the vice-captain and is very much going to be a part of their first-choice eleven. Pakistan has always been inconsistent and unreliable in ICC tournaments, so the questions is whether they can be consistent right through to win their second World T20 title!?
For more updates on the progress of Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, stay tuned to ReadScoops.com…
Register on 10Cric and get INR 10,000 first deposit bonus for online sports betting
