T20 World Cup 2022, Team Analysis - Pakistan

Pakistan (Source: AP Newsroom)

The ICC T20 World Cup 2022 has begun on a surprising note as Namibia defeated the Asian champions, Sri Lanka in the opener. Since then, we have already witnessed some exciting matches in the qualifier round itself. If the morning shows the day, then we can expect a really enthralling tournament going into the Super 12 stage beginning from the 22nd October. 

The team we are talking about here, Pakistan will begin their World Cup campaign agains their nemesis, India on the 23rd of October. In this article we will take a deeper dive into their squad.

Squad: 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

The Pillars

Batting

Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam- Mohammad Rizwan has been in a near perfect form in the T20Is in 2022. It has been hard to dismiss him throughout the season so far.  Rizwan is pretty much the backbone of the Pakistani batting order and a lot will depend on him surely. 

Babar and Rizwan's T20I record in 2022 (PC: OneCricket)

Babar Azam will be another important part of the Pakistani batting in this World Cup. It is these two openers on whom the whole batting effort of the team will depend on. 

Bowling

Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi- Naseem Shah displayed his skills with the new ball in hand during the Asia Cup. The expectations will be high on the young pacer during the tournament. 

Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah's T20I record (PC: OneCricket)

Along with Naseem the new ball will probably taken over by Shaheen Shah Afridi from the other end. Both the bowlers having the ability to swing it both ways, might turn out to be the most lethal opening duo with the ball in this tournament.

All-rounders

Mohammad Nawaz

Mohammad Nawaz will be a very vital cog in the team composition of Pakistan. With his left arm orthodox spin bowling, Nawaz will be playing an important role in the middle over bowling efforts of the team along with Shadab Khan. 

Mohammad Nawaz T20I record (Source: OneCricket)

Again, his batting will add the extra flexibility and dynamism to the team. He can come up the order and help them maintain the left hand-right hand combination in the middle. Nawaz can also come down the order and provide India with some powerful finishes. 

Surprise Package

Asif Ali

Asif Ali T20I record in 2022 (Source: OneCricket)

Asif Ali might turn out to be the surprise package for Pakistan. He has the power game in him and he has displayed it multiple times while coming out to bat in the lower middle order. Though he has not been in the best of forms in 2022, his strike rate is yet over 130. So to finish the business in the batting Pakistan will surely be banking on Asif Ali. 

Concern

Middle order batting weakness

The Pakistan middle order looks a strong one on the papers. But the batters have not got enough time out in the middle. Even when the batters have made some contributions, either of the openers have been present at the other end to ensure solidity to the batting order. 

Threats

Fitness concerns

The bowling unit of Pakistan looks very potent but injury is a big scare for the team. We have seen in the Asia Cup, Naseem Shah struggling with his fitness within a match. Also Shaheen is coming back after a period of absence due to his injury. Although the weather in Australia will be different from what it was in UAE, yet the fitness issue of the players will be a threat for the Pakistan team. 

Prediction

The Pakistan team looks very balanced on paper. If they play according to their potential they might well make it to the finals of the tournament.

Predicted XI

Pakistan's predicted XI (Source: OneCricket)

Also Read: How crucial is Michael Bracewell to New Zealand's World Cup chances?