Written by: Waseem Abbas
Posted on: October 21, 2022 | 
| 中文
The team captains with the trophy
The qualifying round, also known as the First Round of the T20 World Cup, started on the 16th of October and continue till the 21st of October. Ireland, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the Netherlands have joined the eight who have already qualified for the main event, which is starting on Saturday, October 22nd, 2022. Hosted by the defending Champions, Australia, the ongoing tournament is the 8th mega event in the history of T20 cricket over the last 15 years. West Indies is the most successful team in the tournament's history having won the title twice, while India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and Australia have won it once only. The twelve teams are divided into two groups of six teams each. Each team in both groups will play a game against the other teams in their group, and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
In my view, England, Australia, India, and Pakistan are the potential semi-finalists, with the Australian side being the hot favorites to lift the trophy. The Aussie lineup consists of giants of T20 cricket, almost the same team that played and won the 2021 WC in the United Arab Emirates. Their batting line has both experience and firepower, with the likes of David Warner, Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade, Marcus Stonnis, Steven Smith, Glen Maxwell, Tim David and Mitchel Marsh, a lineup which is quite intimidating for their opponents. Even a batter of Smith's caliber might not find a place in the Australian starting eleven. Their bowling has all that is needed: a left-arm quick (Starc), a couple of right-arm pacers (Hazelwood and Cummins), a leg spinner (Zampa), and a left-arm orthodox spinner (Ashton Agar). Familiarity and understanding of local conditions will be a bonus for the Australian side.
Australian captain Aaron Finch and Pakistani captain Babar Azam
Other teams capable of fending off the Aussie's march toward the trophy are India and England. England's batting depth is scary, and so is India's. The biggest headache for both teams, however, lies in their bowling department. Injuries have further daunted both the teams, with Jofra Archer missing the tournament for England, while India's premium bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, have been sidelined by injuries. With weak bowling lineups, it will be a difficult task for them to win the tournament.
Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam
Pakistan has recently shrugged off the tag of being mercurial, with more consistent performances over the last few years. Pakistan boasts a strong bowling attack, arguably the strongest in the event. Pakistan's pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi is back in the team after missing the England series and the tri-series in New Zealand due to injuries, and he appeared to be in good form in the practice games against England and Afghanistan. Harris Rauf, who led Pakistan's pace battery in Shaheen's absence, has bowled brilliantly this year and grabbed 23 wickets in 16 matches. Naseem is another find for Pakistan, who was impressive in the Asia Cup 2022. This pace trio can stun any team in any condition, and have good backups in Muhammad Hasnain and Muhammad Wasim. Shadab and Nawaz are experienced spinners, and know how to halt the flow of runs and take scalps in the middle overs.
Pakistani pacers
Pakistan's batting, however, is an area of concern, with many failed experiments to salvage the middle order, but all in vain. Shan Masood, Khushdil Shah, and Iftikhar Ahmed, amongst others, failed to justify their selection, and it seems that Fakhar Zaman will be slotted again at number three, although injuries had sidelined him in the last few months. Nawaz, Shadab and Haider Ali's cameos in the middle are breath of fresh air for Pakistan, and Pakistan should look to utilizing their batting prowess in the top order. Babar and Rizwan have scored runs all over the world, but their rate of scoring has come under scrutiny. My assessment is that in this mega event, with the boundary at a further distance, they are going to play a crucial role for Pakistan given their ability to rotate the strike and hit boundaries. As the famous saying goes that "batters win you games; bowlers win you tournaments"; Pakistan can hope for good outcomes given its skillful bowling and in-form top-order batting.
Team Pakistan
Given that the boundary sizes in Australia range from 75-82 meters, a big difference from other parts of the world, especially in T20 matches, which are mostly between 70-75 meters. This means that teams will have to play cautiously, especially in the middle overs, when teams place five fielders at the boundary. Quick start in the power play, and accumulation of singles and doubles in the middle overs, will be crucial for teams to post a decent total on the board. For bowling sides, making breakthroughs in the powerplay will be necessary to stop the flow of runs in the middle overs. Bowling fast and wicket-to-wicket is the way to go in the middle overs for pacers.
Ex-New Zealand legendary batter Ross Taylor aptly named five young batters to watch out for in this mega event: Pakistan's Haider Ali, India's Surya Kumar Yadav, New Zealand's Fin Allen, England's Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone. Other players to watch out for include KL Rahul, Babar Azam, Trent Boult, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Joss Butler, Virat Kohli and David Warner.
Haider Ali
Pakistan last won the T20 WC in 2009 under Younus Khan's captaincy, and has played five mega events without winning any. It is a good opportunity for Pakistan to make its presence felt in international cricket, given the controversial statement by the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) that they will not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023, which is scheduled to be held in Pakistan. Pakistan is scheduled to play its archrival India on the 23rd of October at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The final of the mega event is scheduled on the 13th of November at the MCG.
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