After a massive scare just one day before the semi-final, Pakistan’s inform batters Mohammad Rizwan and Shoaib Malik are fit to play against Australia at Dubai International Stadium. Rizwan and Malik woke up with mild flu on the morning of November 10 and were tested for Covid-19. The test results for the novel coronavirus came in negative but the duo were advised to skip the training session later in the day.
There were also reports that Sarfaraz Ahmed and Haider Ali are likely to replace the two against Australia. It would have been a big blow to Pakistan’s chances of reaching the final as they have not tinkered with the winning combination during their five-match winning streak in the Super-12 stage. Rizwan is the team’s second-highest run-scorer with two half-centuries whereas Malik were at his attacking best with the joint-fastest half-century of the tournament in the previous game.
With Rizwan and Malik declared fit, skipper Babar Azam is unlikely to make any changes to the side despite a few non-performing players. Fakhar Zaman is yet to play a big inning batting at no.3 whereas Hasan Ali has been leaking runs in death overs. Mohammad Hafeez has not been in best of forms either.
However, in the pre-match press conference Azam said that he would back his senior players because they are big-game players. With a win, Pakistan will be looking to qualify for their T20 World Cup final and face New Zealand who they were able to beat New Zealand at the group stage with the help of Asif Ali’s cameo in the run chase.
