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Pakistan captain Babar Azam didn't mince his words during the all-16-captain press conference on October 15 (Saturday) ahead of the start of the T20 World Cup in Australia. India and Pakistan are scheduled to lock horns in a blockbuster contest on October 23 (Sunday) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and both teams are expected to land heavy punches in order to secure an all-important win to start their campaign in tremendous fashion.
The two teams will square off against each other for the fourth time in a span of a year. Pakistan trounced India by 10 wickets in the T20 World Cup match last year in UAE while both teams registered a win against each other in the Asia Cup 2022. The Men in Blue will be desperate to exact revenge after suffering an awful defeat against the Men in Green last year and also for their loss in Asia Cup this year.
Having said that, the task at hand won't be an easy one for India, especially with star Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi declared fit to participate in the high-voltage contest.
When quizzed about Shaheen Afridi's fitness in the press conference, Babar Azam was quick to fire an indirect warning to India by claiming that his trump card is 'fully fit and dedicated'.
"Shaheen (Afridi) and Fakhar (Zaman) have come back. We have six days for the first match, so we utilise these warm-up matches. Shaheen is fully fit and dedicated to give his 100 percent. So we are looking forward to seeing him play," the Pakistan skipper said during the press conference.
Shaheen was not a part of Pakistan's team that reached the final of the Asia Cup. He also missed their seven-match series against England, which Pakistan lost 4-3 and the T20I tri-series involving New Zealand and Bangladesh in the Kiwi country.
Shaheen has played only one T20I against India but it was enough to rubber-stamp his position as a key player for his team and a threat to the Indians. In that 10-wicket win over the Men in Blue, Shaheen dismantled India's top order to bag three wickets for 31 runs as India were bowled out for 151 runs, a score that was easily chased down by the Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in 17.5 overs.
Meanwhile, Babar Azam also underlined just how potent Pakistan's pace attack is and their preparedness for the crunch game against India.
"Pakistan have always created fast bowlers. Our fast bowling lot is strong. Shaheen will make it stronger. We have played different combinations and they have all performed. Haris has improved at death. It's our opportunity to show skills and different combinations of players," he continued.
"When you play India, it's a high-intensity game. Fans also wait for it. We enjoy it on the field. We tried to play good cricket," Babar added.
