Pakistan’s cricket team’s strength, weaknesses and chances at winning the prestigious ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title in Australia 2022 analysed!
Since the inception of the T20 World Cup in 2007, Pakistan have won the tournament once. In 2009, they beat Sri Lanka in the final at Lord Cricket Ground, England.
T20 World Cup has been played 7 times since its first edition in 2007 which was played in South Africa. India won first T20 World Cup beating rival Pakistan in the final of the tournament.
West Indies are the only team to win the competition twice in 2012 and 2016. Australia are the current champions winning the title last year.
Pakistan has won the prestigious competition once in 2009. They were runners-up in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. They have reached the semi-finals on three occasions more than any other team that has taken part in the competition.
The format of the T20 World Cup has changed a lot since then and this time around, there are total 16 participants. After the first round of games where teams ranked 9 to 12 will battle it out with 4 teams that have qualified from the Global Qualifiers, 4 teams will join the other top 8 teams, in 2 groups of 6 teams each, in the Super 12 knock-out round.
The top two teams from each group in Super 12 round will make it to the semi-finals.
Pakistan are in Group 2 with India, South Africa and Bangladesh. Two other teams from first round will also join their group.
Pakistan Team’s Recent Form in T20is
On paper, Pakistan have a strong squad with the likes of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and Asif Ali.
However, their recent form in T20Is has been patchy. They failed to win Asia Cup after reaching the final. They also lost their home t20 series against England with a margin of 4-3.
Currently they are playing a tri-series in t20 format in New Zealand. They have won their first two games against Bangladesh and the host New Zealand quite comfortably.
However, in T20 World Cup, Pakistan will need to be at their best if they are to make it to the semi-finals as they face some very strong teams in India and South Africa in their group.
Strengths of Pakistan Cricket Team
Babar Azam, who is considered as one of the absolute best batsman in the world of cricket, is currently the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is going to be key for Pakistan in the tournament as he has the ability to score runs in any conditions against any kind of opponent.
Mohammed Rizwan, the wicket-keeper opening batsman for Pakistan, is currently the top ranked T20 batter in ICC rankings. He is in great scoring form in T20Is this year.
Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam partnership at the top is going to be Pakistan’s biggest strength.
Pakistan’s pace attack is one of the most feared in world cricket. The likes of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah have the ability to bowl fast, swing the ball and take early wickets.
These bowlers are always instrumental in Pakistan’s successes in the short format. The only concern for Pakistan is the injury issue of Shaheen Afridi.
With the inclusion of leg-spinner Shadab Khan, off-spinner Mohammed Nawaz, and part-time spinner Iftikhar Ahmed Pakistan have one of the well-settled bowling attack going into the World Cup.
Weaknesses of Pakistan Cricket Team
The Pakistan cricket team is currently going through a tough time, with the middle order being a particular area of concern. This is a major problem for Pakistan, as they are heavily reliant on their top order batsmen to score the majority of their runs.
The team has been unable to find a settled middle order since the exclusion of Shoaib Malik and Mohammed Hafeez, and the current lineup is still not looking entirely convincing.
Khushdil Shah and Iftikhar Ahmed are the only two batsmen who have managed to make an impact in the middle order so far, but they have both been inconsistent.
The return of Fakhar Zaman in the team is also in doubt as he has not been in great form the whole calendar year. Shan Masood’s entry into the team has provided some solidity to Pakistan’s batting woes.
Going into the tournament, the management is expected to make some tough calls in order to address the middle order concerns. Shadab Khan and Mohammed Nawaz have been occasionally tested at higher batting numbers to up the run-rate in middle overs. This trend is expected to continue in the World Cup games as well.
Besides the problem of Pakistan’s batting too reliant on the top order of Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam, the other big concern for the management is the poor fielding standards of the team. In recently concluded Asia Cup, the fielding of the team looked abysmal.
Can Pakistan Win Their Second ICC T20 World Cup Title?
You can never know with team Pakistan!
On their day they are the best team in the world and have the ability to smash any and every opponent. If you are trying to find one common thing in Pakistan cricket team in its overall history, it is the unpredictably factor about them.
The top order of the Pakistan cricket team is its strength. The team has some of the best batsmen in the world in its top order.
The likes of Babar Azam, Mohammed Rizwan, and Fakhar Zaman are all world-class batsmen. They have the ability to score runs quickly and put the opposition under pressure.
The top order is also very experienced, with most of the batsmen having played in international cricket for many years. This experience gives them the ability to deal with any situation that arises during a match.
They need to address the middle order woes and improve the standard of fielding in the crunch tense games.
If Shaheen can be fit to join the attack of Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah, then Pakistan’s team has the best chance to win the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
