June 3 (Punjab Khabarnama) : With the T20 World Cup having begun on Sunday, Pakistan are one of the contenders for the trophy. Babar Azam and Co. open their campaign on Thursday, against the USA in Texas. The pressure will once again be on Babar, who has been reinstated as captain, replacing pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Before the tournament, Pakistan took on England in a four-match T20I series, 0-2. During the series, they used their usual opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar. For a match, they also paired Rizwan with youngster Saim Ayub.
Speaking on Star Sports, West Indies legend Ian Bishop supported Pakistan’s backing of youngsters. “If you’re asking me what I want versus what will happen to Pakistan, I will tell you that I need and hope that down the road, I don’t know if it’s immediate but down the road guys like Saim Ayub, I know Mohammad Harris is not in the reckoning right now, but he’s another young man. They’ve left back at home that I think until for T-20 cricket. But these guys are still very young and living the way,” he said.
Bishop also predicted that Pakistan will go with Babar and Rizwan as their opening pair, but also opined that the should change their approach. “So, the experience of Babar and Rizwan, they probably will go back there. But again, that’s a template that needs to change with those two players who I think from what we’ve seen T20 cricket going to even in a World Cup of challenging pitches, they need to shift another gear up in the way they approach their batting,” he further added.
After their opener, Pakistan will next take on India on Sunday, in New York. Then, they face Canada on June 11, followed by against Ireland in their final group stage match on June 16.