Pakistan name 12-man squad for 20-20 World Cup opener against India
Pakistan have announced their 12-man squad for the marquee clash against India. The teams are set to cross swords in Dubai tomorrow, Sunday, October 24 in their 20-20 World Cup opener. Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Haider Ali, Asif Ali are the specialist batters in the team, while Mohammad Rizwan will take the gloves. The team has named three pacers – Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, while Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan are the spinners. Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik can also roll over their arm.
Babar Azam, who will be leading Pakistan for the first time in a world event, will be keen to end Pakistan’s losing streak against India. The Men in Green have never beaten India in 12 encounters of the world cups.
Pakistan have not played a lot of cricket in the build-up to the showpiece event. They were scheduled to play five T20Is against New Zealand and two T20Is against England at home but both series got cancelled after the visitors withdrew from the tour citing security issues. Pakistan played a couple of warm-up games recently but looked rusty. India, on the other, were at their ruthless best in the warm-ups and defeated England and Australia.
Pakistan 12-man squad for India clash – Babar Azam (C), Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Hafeez, Malik, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen, Haris Rauf
