KARACHI: Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is optimistic about Pakistan’s chances in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
During a recent analysis of the Pakistan team on his YouTube channel, Ashwin shared his thoughts on the team’s chances in the upcoming World Cup.
“Some may not like it, but I am going to talk about cricket. I feel Pakistan have a really good shot at this World Cup,” Ashwin said.
He highlighted the team’s key players and their potential impact in the upcoming matches, highlighting the strength of the top order and the effectiveness of the bowling attack.
Ashwin highlighted Pakistan’s top-order batsmen and bowling attack, noting that their opening pair is a big advantage and the combination of control and unpredictability of the bowlers makes the team formidable.
“Their biggest strength is their opening pair. Babar Azam doesn’t open; it’s Sahibzada Farhan and Saeem Ayub. Saeem Ayub has done well in the powerplay with the bat, and Shaheen Shah Afridi’s economy rate in the powerplay is 6.5. Abrar Ahmed and Nawaz are strong with his control,” he said.
The 39-year-old also analyzed Pakistan’s current squad, highlighting areas of concern such as inconsistent performance by key players and the impact of some line-up decisions, while acknowledging the potential of emerging talent.
“Their weakness is Babar Azam in the middle order, and the death bowling of Naseem Shah and Shaheen is not very sharp. Shadab’s batting and bowling form has dipped, while Usman Tariq brings the innovation factor with an economy rate of 5.63. Khawaja Nafe is on 174,” he said.
“Overall, Pakistan have strengths and weaknesses, but they have Salman Ali Agha, who is not often mentioned,” he concluded.
For the uninitiated, Pakistan will formally begin their campaign against the Netherlands at the Sinhala Sports Club Stadium in Colombo on February 7, before playing two group-stage games against the United States (USA) on February 10 and Namibia on February 18.
Notably, the green shirts were scheduled to take on arch-rivals India at the R Premadasa Stadium here on February 15, but the Pakistan government has banned the venue for the blockbuster match.
Following the conclusion of the group stage, the top two teams from each of the four pools will advance to the Super Eight.
Eight teams will participate in the next stage, divided into two groups of four, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the semi-finals, scheduled to be played on March 4 and 5.
If Pakistan advance to the semi-finals and final, the knockout matches will be held in Colombo; Otherwise, the semi-final and final will be held in Kolkata and Ahmedabad respectively.
Pakistan Team: Salman Ali Agha (catch), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faqar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafe (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shahman Afridi, Usman Khan.