Babar Azam Eyes T20 World Cup Glory for Pakistan

Pakistan’s white-ball captain, Babar Azam, expressed confidence in his team’s potential to win the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, set to commence on June 2. Speaking at a press conference ahead of Pakistan’s four-match T20I series against England, Babar described the tournament as a "golden opportunity" for his side.

Photo: Online

Addressing his recent reinstatement as captain, Babar explained,

"To be honest, [I returned as the captain] because of the World Cup. In the past, we have played semi-final and final but this time I have the opportunity to win the World Cup."

Babar highlighted the team’s strengths, particularly their robust bowling attack. "We have a good batting lineup and especially our bowling is good because Amir is back. [We have] Shaheen, Haris, and Naseem, they are good fast bowlers so yeah, we have a golden opportunity to win the World Cup," he added.

Photo: Online

Babar confirmed that Saim Ayub and Mohammad Rizwan would continue to open the innings, while he would bat at one down. "Look, as you might have noticed, we did not make many experiments in the Ireland series. We fielded the same lineup we foresee [to utilize] in the World Cup," he noted. He emphasized that the team has almost finalized its batting and bowling lineups, though minor adjustments might be made based on conditions.

Babar provided an update on Haris Rauf’s fitness, announcing that the right-arm speedster is fully fit and ready for the series. "We’ve received clearance for Haris Rauf. He’s available for this series. So, by the will of Almighty Allah, he will surely be seen in action in the series," he stated.

The four-match T20I series between Pakistan and England, scheduled from May 22 to 30, will serve as a critical warm-up for both teams ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. Notably, both sides, being finalists in the previous edition, will skip the official warm-up matches for this year’s tournament.

Pakistan squad:

Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Khan.

England squad:

Jos Buttler (c), Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Tom Hartley, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Reece Topley.

Pak vs Eng T20I series schedule:

1st T20I: Wed, May 22nd - 10:30 PM PST

2nd T20I: Sat, May 25th - 06:30 PM PST

3rd T20I: Tue, May 28th - 10:30 PM PST

4th T20I: Thu, May 30th - 10:30 PM PST