Best Pakistan Playing XI For ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022

Best Pakistan Playing XI For ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. Pakistan will begin their 2022 T20 World Cup campaign against India on October 23. Babar Azam’s men lost in the finals of the recent Asia Cup 2022, going down to Sri Lanka by 23 runs.

After the disappointment of the 2021 T20 World Cup, where they lost in the semifinals, Pakistan would be hoping to turn things around in 2022 when they travel to Australia. Pakistan begin their campaign against India at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground and will go on to play four more league games.

The winners of the 2009 World T20(T20I World Cup) also reached the final in 2007, where they lost to India. They have entered the semifinals on three other occasions, including in 2010, 2012 and in 2021.

In the 15-player ICC T20I World Cup 2022 squad, Pakistan has included top-order batter Shan Masood alongside fast bowlers Mohammad Wasim Junior and Shaheen Shah Afridi, while Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris and Shahnawaz Dahani have been named as the three travelling reserves.

Their fast bowling star Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is undergoing rehabilitation for a knee injury in London and is expected to resume bowling early next month, will join the Pakistan T20 World Cup 2022 squad in Brisbane on 15 October.

Pakistan Squad:- Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir

Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani

Pakistan will play at four venues in the T20 World Cup. After taking on India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, they will travel to Perth, where they will play the teams that make it past the Qualifiers.

Pakistan will then take on South Africa at Sydney Cricket Ground, and their last league game will be against Bangladesh in Adelaide. Pakistan are placed in Group 2 along with India, South Africa, Bangladesh and two Qualifiers.

Best Pakistan Playing XI For ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022

Babar Azam

Babar Azam will lead the Pakistan squad in the T20I World Cup 2022. He should be the opener for the team during the tournament. The right-handed batsman is one of the top-ranked batsmen in T20Is (ICC ranking) but didn’t fire in Asia Cup 2022.

He scored only 68 runs averaging a pathetic 11.33 in 6 T20Is in Asia Cup but came back in the subsequent home series against England where he scored his 2nd ton. He amassed 285 runs in 7 T20Is averaging 57 and also averages 48 in the tri-series where he amassed 192 runs in 5 games.

Mohammad Rizwan

Mohammad Rizwan should be the wicketkeeper and the other opener for Pakistan in T20I World Cup 2022. He was the highest run-getter in Asia Cup 2022 with 281 runs averaging 56.2 in 6 T20Is. He continued his dream run in the subsequent T20Is at home against England- 316 runs in 6 T20Is averaging 63.2 and 201 runs in 5 T20Is in the New Zealand tri-series averaging 50.25.

He was the 2nd highest run-getter in the New Zealand tri-series. He is in the form of his life and is ICC’s top-ranked T20I batter.

Shan Masood

Shan Masood debuted in T20Is against England in the recent 7-match series. Both of his 2 fifties came in that series. He scored only 64 runs averaging 16 in 5 games averaging 16 in the New Zealand tri-series. The tall left-hander was recalled to the Pakistan T20I side and included in the 2022 T20I World Cup squad after being on the sidelines since early 2021.

Shan Masood has played 25 Tests and 5 ODIs but was yet to play a T20I before the England series. While he debuted in Tests in 2013, all of his 5 ODIs came way back in 2019.

Haider Ali

Haider Ali will compete with Khushdil Shah for the middle-order spot. He scored useful knocks of 68 and 31 against the West Indies in December 2021 but failed to do well against England and in the New Zealand tri-series after earning a recall. He scored 55 runs in 5 T20Is averaging 13.75 in the tri-series. He scored 31 in the New Zealand tri-series final which resulted in Pakistan’s victory.

Iftikhar Ahmed

Iftikhar Ahmed should be another middle-order batsman for Pakistan in the playing XI. He scored 105 runs in 6 T20Is in Asia Cup 2022 averaging 26.25. He would vie for a spot in the playing XI with Khushdil Shah, who is terribly out of form. He scored 65 runs in 3 innings in the New Zealand tri-series averaging 32.5.

Asif Ali

Asif Ali will be Pakistan’s big-hitting batter. Although his batting average isn’t great, he has the ability to hit sixes at will. In the Super 4 match against India, he scored a quick 16 off 8 balls before being lbw-ed by Arshdeep Singh in the last over. The pace bowler had earlier dropped a regulation catch in the 18th over. But his missed catch cost India the Super 4 match.

Asif Ali managed only 32 runs in 4 innings in the New Zealand tri-series.  In the previous 2021 T20I World Cup, Asif Ali hit 27* off 12 balls against New Zealand and 25* off 7 balls against Afghanistan. His average was 57 and his strike rate was 237.5.

Shadab Khan

Shadab Khan should be an all-rounder for Pakistan in the World Cup 2022 squad. He picked 8 scalps in the Asia Cup 2022 playing 5 T20Is averaging 14.13 with career-best figures of 4/8 coming in the match against Hong Kong.

He could bat a bit as proved by scoring 36 against Afghanistan in Asia Cup 2022 match and 34 against New Zealand in the ongoing tri-series. He was the 3rd highest wicket-taker besides Mohammad Nawaz in Asia Cup 2022. He scored 42 runs in 2 innings averaging 21 in the New Zealand tri-series besides picking 3 scalps in 5 T20Is averaging 46.

Mohammad Nawaz

Mohammad Nawaz was the joint 3rd leading wicket-taker with Shadab Khan in the Asia Cup 2022 for picking 8 scalps in 6 T20Is averaging 13.75 with a best of 3/5. He also scored a vital 20-ball 42 in the Super 4 match against India while batting up the order. He scored 107 runs in 5 innings in the New Zealand tri-series averaging 53.5 which included a knock of 45* in the final. H also picked 6 scalps in 5 T20Is averaging 27.83.

Naseem Shah

For Pakistan, teenage pace sensation Naseem Shah made his T20I debut against India in Asia Cup 2022 and impressed everyone with his speed and control. He finished with figures of 4-0-27-2 and accounted for the wickets of KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav.

However, towards the end of the innings, Naseem Shah looked like suffering from cramps. Despite that, he was brave enough to continue and left the field after the 18th over against India. He has so far picked 7 scalps in 6 T20Is averaging 25.57. He played only 1 game against England, as he tested positive for COVID-19.

Pakistan’s young pacer Naseem Shah was diagnosed with a viral infection in the tri-nation series in New Zealand and didn’t play the first two games. He later played 3 games and picked 4 scalps averaging 20.75.

Haris Rauf

Haris Rauf, the right-arm pacer emerged as the top wicket-taker for Pakistan in the recent T20I series against England with 8 wickets in 6 games. He had also taken 8 scalps in 6 T20Is in Asia Cup 2022 averaging 19.13. Haris Rauf also picked 6 wickets in the New Zealand tri-series averaging 14.67.

Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pakistan had suffered a huge injury blow ahead of the Asia Cup 2022 as their pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi was ruled out of the competition due to a ligament injury in his knee.

Shaheen Shah Afridi will join the national squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Australia 2022 in Brisbane as per schedule on Saturday, 15 October, after undergoing his rehabilitation program under the supervision of the PCB Medical Advisory Committee, PCB confirmed on October 11, 2022.

The PCB also said that the left-arm pacer, who has been out of action since before the Asia Cup 2022 tournament due to a knee injury, will be available for selection for the 17 and 19 October warm-up matches against England and Afghanistan, where the team management will assess his fitness.