Pakistan has a strong chance of winning this year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup, according to pace legend Waqar Younis.
According to Waqar, “We stand a really good chance of doing well at this World Cup,” he told ICC Digital in Melbourne.
The team led by Babar Azam is currently ranked third in the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings and will visit Australia later this year full of optimism following some successful outings in the game’s shortest format over the previous 12 months.
Pakistan advanced to the semifinals of the T20 World Cup last year, which was held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but lost to Australia, the only team to defeat them since November 2021.
Waqar, however, thinks that the Australian pitches are good and that the Men in Green can succeed there given the circumstances.
Pakistan does have good batters who can really play well in these circumstances, he said. “The pitches in Australia are generally very good batting pitches,” he said.
“Babar will unquestionably be the important batter at the top of the order.”
Waqar stated, “I believe he (Babar) will have the impact that he always had, and of course, Rizwan is playing very well and the bowling attack they have is one of the best in the world.
The legend mentioned that Hasani Ali is also bowling well and that pacers Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi will play a significant role in Pakistan’s pace attack.
“I believe that Shaheen (Afridi) and Haris Rauf will be crucial, but let’s not overlook Hasan Ali either because he has been bowling very well.
Pakistan’s fast bowling attack is excellent, and Shadab and Nawaz, who are both skilled spinners, can be mixed in.
When asked if Babar, one of the best batters in all formats, was superior to or on par with a number of Pakistan’s top batters, Waqar replied that the comparisons could wait for the time being.
Look who is back to the top of the @MRFWorldwide ICC Men’s T20I Rankings for batters 👀@babarazam258 👏 pic.twitter.com/eTelo79zxy
— ICC (@ICC) December 22, 2021
Waqar remarked that Babar Azam “looks like a million bucks in modern cricket and he is unquestionably as good as all the big names.”
We shouldn’t forget that each of those greats played in a different era and had their own unique strengths and qualities.
When Babar retires, you can perhaps sit down and begin comparing him to other players because he is still very young and has a lot of cricket left in him.
