LEEDS: With their combination established after weeks of experimentation, Pakistan will treat their four-match Twenty20 International series against England — which starts at Headingley on Wednesday — as their final warm-up ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Starting off their preparations for the T20 showpiece only in April, Pakistan had bolstered their bowling line-up after veterans, all-rounder Imad Wasim and pacer Mohammad Amir, rescinded their respective international retirements.
But problems prevailed in their batting combination, with lack of surety over the number three and number six positions in particular.Pakistan tried out the likes of Usman Khan and Irfan Khan Niazi, the batters making their debuts in the home series against New Zealand in April.
Against Ireland earlier this month, however, Pakistan placed skipper Babar Azam on number three while Azam Khan played in the number six slot.Both thrived in their respective positions as the side came back from a stunning loss against Ireland in the first of the three T20Is to outclass the hosts in the next two games.
Promising batter Saim Ayub and mainstay Mohammad Rizwan — who was brilliant against Ireland as well — meanwhile, cemented their spots in the opening positions despite Saim’s struggles up top.But it seems the series win against Ireland had boosted Babar and the Pakistan team management’s confidence in the current combination and therefore, the team will look to make it a well-oiled one before they open their World Cup campaign against the US in Dallas on June 6.
“Look, as you might have noticed we did not make many experiments in the Ireland series,” Babar said during the pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “We fielded the same line-up we foresee [to utilise] in the World Cup.“We are planning to go with which combination and we have almost decided what should be our batting and bowling line-up.
“You’ll see our planning in this series but yes, we can make one or so changes according to the conditions or what is required. But, mostly I’ll be batting at one down.”Pakistan maintained run-rates of more than 10, chasing to win both the second and third T20Is against Ireland, demonstrating renewed approach, boosted a by intent to go after the ball and hit it big.
The approach saw Pakistan chase down targets of 179 and 194 with 18 and 19 balls to spare respectively, suggesting that the side was letting go of their past style of taking the game deep.With momentum on their back, Babar believed 2022 champions England would be the perfect opponents to play against in the run-in to the T20 World Cup.
“We changed our style of cricket and mindset after losing the first T20I against Ireland,” recalled the 29-year-old. “People want us to hit only fours and sixes but we have to play according to the situation.“The England series is a golden opportunity for us to win and gain confidence for the T20 World Cup.”
Despite having the likes of pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Amir at their disposal against Ireland, Pakistan were slightly expensive against Paul Stirling’s men.Babar defended his charges, putting his faith in their ability of bouncing back through taking wickets.
“The thing is that sometimes you end up conceding runs, but you should see that those bowlers who leaked runs [against Ireland], also provided us breakthroughs,” he noted. “Yes, we are making some mistakes in patches but we have talked about this in detail and we have experienced bowlers who are the best in the world as well, so they know how to execute plans and bowl accordingly. They also know how to come back after a bad performance.”
Pakistan’s bowling, however, will received a major boost with the return of pacer Haris Rauf — a T20 death over specialist — who was cleared to play following an injury lay-off that lasted nearly three months.“We have been given clear for Haris [Rauf],” Babar confirmed. “He is available for the series and you all will see him [in action].”
