4 Key Players For Pakistan Against India

Nobody gave them much chance when they thrashed India by 10 wickets in the last year’s T20 World Cup. The game was dominated by the star trio of Pakistan; Babar, Shaheen, and Rizwan.

Shaheen is out due to injury but the Babar-Rizwan duo is set to open the innings again. Then, who are the 4 most important blokes for Pakistan in the upcoming encounter?

Let’s discover.

• Babar Azam

Of course, no doubts there. The #1 batsman in both T20Is and ODIs had been ruling the white ball cricket for a while now. Virat Kohli recently said about him:

“Right now, he is probably the top batsman in the world.”

That makes sense too. He is the wall in the Pakistan team. But, how to get through this wall? Well, there are 2 ways. You can either try to get him with full in-swinging delivery in the power play. Or dry him up.

If you can’t get him early, keep bowling tight lines to him. No let-off, no easy boundaries. Make him earn every single run and then wait for him to make a mistake.

• Muhammad Rizwan

Babar has been performing brilliantly for the last 4 years in T20Is. But, Pakistan started to look threatening once Rizwan started to open the batting alongside him. He had a stupendous 2021 and is ranked #3 in T20Is at the moment.

How can India keep him quiet or get him out? They should try to make him drive away from his body early as he can be suspicious of his feet’ movement.

• Shadab Khan

The star all-rounder was pivotal to Pakistan’s bowling performance against India in that World Cup game. He bowled with amazing control and kept them in check all the time. Also, getting Pant out was a crucial blow to India. Pakistan will expect something similar this time around. However, India should try to hit him straight rather than going across.

He is now an established T20 batsman as well. His stats with the bat in PSL 2022 were staggering. India can try the short ball ploy to test him.

• Naseem Shah

Not many Indian fans will be worried about this man at the moment. But, in absence of Shaheen, he is Pakistan’s main strike bowler. Although he has played only 3 white ball games at the highest levels, he has picked up 10 wickets in them with a 5-for.

To neutralize him, India should avoid playing risky shots against him early on. They can try and attack him towards the end of the innings.

Sum Up

All in all, Pakistan is no more an easy side to walk past easily. They are now a tough team to play against even without Shaheen.

Babar+Rizwan with the bat, Naseem with the ball, and Shadab with both are a force to reckon with. India needs to keep them in check to boost their chances on the 28th.