As upcoming Ind-Pak contest getting all the hype, think Pakistan would be a in a big disadvantage compared to their rivals India. The reason is lack of preparations & international cricket. PAK has played only 1 T20I this year and will now face IND directly on 28th August, 2022 while IND will play 17 T20I's before they meet PAK.
- WHAT'S THE DISADVANTAGE?
No cricket for a longer period of time puts you in a disadvantage of determining which of your squad members are out of form, half-fit or injured.
- IS THERE ANY PRACTICAL EXAMPLE TO IT?
Pakistan experienced a similar disadvantage back in 2018 during Sarfaraz's captaincy. They played an ODI series in JAN against New Zealand & went onto play Asia Cup in SEP (excluding 5-odis v ZIM). Sarfaraz heavily relied on his match winners; Fakhar, Shadab, Aamir, Hassan Ali just to find out half of them out-of-form and others are facing injuries. PAK had a disastrous tournament.
- DOES IT REALLY MATTER FOR A PROFESSIONAL TEAM?
Yes, it does. Year 2021 is considered as one of the finest year of PCT in recent times. PAK played 29 T20I's in 2021 compared to India who played 16 T20GoodI's. They had a poor WC campaign. (IPL fatigue played a fair share of role as well)
- HOW IT WILL EFFECT T20WC PREPARATIONS?
PAK are set to play around 10-12 T20I games before T20WC begins but the challenge is the time window and the game against India in Asia Cup. It's always a high pressure match, either you carry a momentum from there or go in a panic mode since a lot of criticism is drawn if things go wrong. We've seen it before.
For time window argument, PAK will play these 10-12 games within the span of 40 days before they start their WC campaign. Not enough time to make changes and settle new members if required.
Historically, PAK has a below-par record playing in Australia but a lot of hopes from the world class trio (Babar, Shaheen, Rizwan) to change the trend and set a new precedent for the upcoming lot.
Pakistan squad for ACC T20 Asia Cup:
- Babar Azam (captain)
- Shadab Khan (vice-captain)
- Asif Ali
- Fakhar Zaman
- Haider Ali
- Haris Rauf
- Iftikhar Ahmed
- Khushdil Shah
- Mohammad Nawaz
- Mohammad Rizwan
- Mohammad Wasim Jnr
- Naseem Shah
- Shaheen Shah Afridi
- Shahnawaz Dahani
- Usman Qadir
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