Pakistan skipper Babar Azam ahead of the high-voltage clash against India on October 24 revealed the team’s final 12. There was one notable omission from the 12 players he announced for the crucial match. The top batter left out former Pakistan skipper and wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed from the team's first match of the campaign. Sarfaraz-led Pakistan registered the historic win over India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.
“Sarfaraz is a good player of spin and has good confidence of playing against India. But, we considered best XI for this match as Shoaib Malik also plays spin very well. That’s why we have opted for this final 12,” Azam told the media in a virtual interaction ahead of their tournament opener.
Pakistan’s World Cup record against India has been abysmal having lost 12 matches against the neighbors in the World Cup including both 50-over and T20 format.
“When you go into a big tournament, what matter is your belief, the confidence you have within the group. As a team, our confidence and morale is very high. Past is gone, we are not thinking about it rather we are focusing on the future. I am confident that we are well prepared and will play good cricket in the match,” the 37-year-old said.
Asked about the main strength about Pakistan, without batting an eyelid, the second-ranked T20I batter said, “Our main strength is our batting. The way our batters have been performing over the last couple of months, I am confident that they will perform in the game against India as well."
1992 World Cup-winning captain and the current Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan also interacted with the team ahead of the tournament. Talking about his interaction with the former bowling all-rounder, the current skipper said, “Imran Khan just shared his experience of playing and leading the side to the 1992 World Cup title. He told us how the body language of the side was during that World Cup and what was the attitude of the players in that team."
Pakistan's 12 man squad for India match:
Babar Azam (c)
Asif Ali
Fakhar Zaman
Haiden Ali
Mohammad Rizwan
Imad Wasim
Mohammad Hafeez
Shadab Khan
Shoaib Malik
Haris Rauf
Hasan Ali
Shaheen Shah Afridi
