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T20 World Cup | Countering setbacks, restoring belief, this is more than just a tournament for Pakistan

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At times, it takes a small obstacle to instigate an individual or a team and provide them with much-needed inspiration. AND Pakistan got that, days before the beginning of the T20 World Cup, courtesy New Zealand and England. 

The Blackcaps and the English side had cancelled their respective tours to the Asian nation citing security concerns. The two teams faced a lot of heat for their decision. 

PCB’s new chairman Rameez Raja was so furious that he went on to say that apart from India, Pakistan will also target New Zealand and England in the World Cup. 

"We go in the World Cup now and where we had one team in our target - our neighbours India, they now add two more teams - New Zealand and England. So pick up the strength and develop a mindset that we are not going to lose because you didn't do right by us with us and we will avenge that in the ground," ESPNcricinfo quoted Raja as saying.

So, here they are, apart from India, Pakistan do have New Zealand in their group and will lock horns with them on Tuesday (October 26, 2021) in Sharjah. 

Well, this is about the fixture but the important question is, is this mindset and approach good? Probably yes, probably no. The fans would be affirmative about this thinking while the pundits would contradict it and rightly so. 

Taking a few things on the chin and turning it around for yourself is a positive aspect but targeting just two or three teams in a global tournament is surely not a way to the right path. But we can still give that “benefit of doubt” to Rameez Raja as the board had to go through some major losses. 

Here is the time for the Pakistan unit to take up the onus and turn the tables for themselves. So, here we look at how this Pakistan squad looks like, what are their strengths and weaknesses. 

Babar Azam: The batsman 

There was a viral meme which had two pictures in a collage form reading “art & artist” and if we had to make something similar in cricket in the past few months, this would probably have “batting & Babar Azam” in it. The right-handed batsman has been in sublime form and has been among runs. Whether it’s the international fixtures or Pakistan’s National T20 tournament, Babar has been in great touch but there is a huge issue here that needs to be fixed. 

This glitch is Pakistan captain’s scoring rate. He has the ability to get his eye in and score a good amount of runs at the top but the striking rate puts the other batters under the pump. The team management and Babar himself would need to fix this up or alternatively can play the role of anchor who carries the bat through the innings and let the other batters go all guns blazing. 

Plenty of all-rounders & leaders

Pakistan have two of the most experienced all-rounders in Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik in their line up. It’s not just about how many runs can these two players chip in with or how many wickets they can take, it’s much more than that. 

It’s about how much knowledge they bring to the table considering the amount of cricket that these two players have played around the globe especially in the T20 format. 

Apart from these two, the unit also has the services of Imad Wasim and vice captain Shadab Khan. While Imad has some captaincy experience as he has led Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League, Shadab is considered to be one of the finest fielders that Pakistan have ever seen and he can set an example for the other players in the field. 

With Malik and Hafeez being the ex-skippers of the national side and Imad and Rizwan who have the experience of leading PSL franchises, the on ground planning can become much easier for Babar Azam. 

Presence of Sarfaraz Ahmed 

The wicket-keeper batsman Sarafraz Ahmed might not find a place in the final XI considering Rizwan being there but the former skipper is one of the most successful Pakistan captains. He has led the U19 team to a World Cup win and the senior side to the Champions Trophy triumph, beating India on both occasions. 

This goes without saying that a captain who has won an ICC tournament has a lot to offer even if he doesn’t take the field. MS Dhoni is probably the best example of this. 

So, Sarfaraz can chip in with some ideas that might help the think tank make better plans against a particular team and his presence in the dugout would make a lot of difference.

Aggressive stroke-makers

Pakistan have an equipped batting armour and this became much evident during their practice match against South Africa where Fakhar Zaman and later Asif Ali hammered the Proteas bowling all around the park. 

Zaman in fact notched up a fifty during the course. So, Pakistan at the moment have much more depth in their batting order which would make life tough for the opponents. Moreover, they have batsmen who possess the ability of taking on any bowling line up on their given day. 

A lot would depend on Fakhar Zaman as well as he has the experience of opening the innings. So, if a wicket falls early, he will have the responsibility to building the innings from scratch and if the side gets a steady start, the left-hander’s task would be to capitalise on it.  

A small glitch in bowling

Pakistan generally fancy their chances on their bowling but the team management would have taken a back after South Africa batsmen unleashed an onslaught against them. Despite picking up early wickets, Pakistan were not able to defend a target of 187 runs in 20 overs. 

With the likes of pacers like Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali, the fans would expect their team to defend such a formidable total. But that’s not the end of the story. The think tank can rejig the strategies and come up with better plans. 

Spinners might be the trump cards 

The Pakistan bowling unit at the moment has a number of spinners who have a lot of experience at the highest level and the kind of tracks that UAE would offer, these spinners might prove to be the key for the Babar Azam-led side.  

Pakistan will begin the campaign against India in Dubai on October 24, 2021. They will then play New Zealand in Sharjah on October 26 before coming back to Dubai where the side is slated to face Afghanistan on October 29. The side will then be up against Namibia on November 2 in Abu Dhabi and will conclude the group stage against Scotland on November 7 in Sharjah. 

Probable XI: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf 

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T20 World Cup | SL vs BAN: In-form sides eager to test each other's depth in low-key contest

While the tournaments such as the T20 World Cup throws up riveting contests between heavyweights of the world cricket that also determines the course of the tournament, one downside of these tournaments is that it also offers contests that don’t have any impact outside of the two sides involved. The third game of the Super 12 phase of the ongoing T20 world cup is a game of the second scenario as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are set to go head to head against each other. Yes, the shortness of the format and the tournament allows teams on the lower standings massive opportunities to inflict surprise on big teams, but both these sides will not be reprimanded for not having larger than life objectives from this game. The buildup Bangladesh were slow to get off the ground and were rocked by Scotland in the first game of the tournament. However, they picked themselves up quickly and plummeted Papua New Guinea and Oman to seal a spot in the Super 12 of the tournament. 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Match details Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh Match no.: 15, Super 12 Group 1 Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Date & Time: Oct 24, 02:00 PM LOCAL, 03:30 IST Pitch report There has been only one game at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium so far in the tournament and only Sri Lanka among both sides have played at the venue. They had run over a clueless Netherlands side on a surface that supported prodigious turn. In the second phase of the Indian Premier League as well, the pitches at the venue seldom provided pace and enough carry for the batsmen to make those games run feast. There is a high chance that the nature of the surface will be similar and conserving the quality of spin on offer from both sides, the batsmen on either side should mentally prepare themselves for a tough and attritional challenge. Team News Sri Lanka Sri Lanka will have to make a forced change from the playing they fielded against the Netherlands as Maheesh Theekshana has been ruled out of the game due to injury. He rose rapidly onto the big stage for the presence of carrom ball in his arsenal but Sri Lanka also have a like for like replacement in Akila Dananjaya. Apart from the spinner, all of the 10 members of the last game should find themselves in the playing XI once again albeit there will be pressure on the top order to make use of the powerplay, which won’t be easy as they are not in a great run of form. Probable XI Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera (WK), Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (C), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Akila Dananjaya, Lahiru Kumara Bangladesh Bangladesh will be a bit anxious about their top order after mixed results in the first three games of the tournament. However, they will be relieved at the return of form of the three senior-most men in the group. The trio of Mahmudullah, Shakib and Mushfiqur form the engine room and Bangladesh will need all three of them to come with full firepower and acceleration against Sri Lanka. Probable XI Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, Mahedi Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Nurul Hasan (WK), Afif Hossain, Mahmudullah (C), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman CE Fantasy XI Kushal Perera (WK), Mahmudullah, Liton Das, Avishka Fernando, Naim Sheikh, Dasun Shanaka, Shakib Al Hasan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mustafizur Rahman, Lahiru Kumara, Mohammad Saifuddin Captain: Shakib Al Hasan Vice-captain: Wanindu Hasaranga