The skipper has admitted that with the T20 World Cup being hosted in the UAE, it will be more like a home event for his team as the middle-east country was Pakistan’s adopted home for more than a decade.
The ICC T20 World Cup is only a couple of months away, and the excitement towards the mega event is building up. This is the first Men’s T20 World Cup in five years. The last one took place in India in 2016.
The 2021 edition, which was also originally supposed to be played in India, has now been moved to the UAE due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 17, the ICC released the schedule for the first round and Super 12s.
“For Pakistan, the T20 World Cup is like a home event as the UAE has been our venue for more than a decade. We have not only nurtured our talent and developed our side in the UAE but have also beaten the top sides in these conditions to peak to No. 1 in the ICC T20I team rankings.
All the players are excited, motivated and enthusiastic, and view this tournament as an opportunity to showcase our prowess and re-establish our superiority in the shortest format of the game in conditions that suit us best,”
Babar Azam was quoted saying to the ICC’s official website during the release of the schedule for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Pakistan are placed in Group 2 in the Super 12 alongside arch-rivals India, New Zealand and Afghanistan. There will be two other qualifying teams from the first round.
Pakistan kickstart their campaign with a high-octane clash against India on October 24 before they face New Zealand (October 26) and Afghanistan (October 29). The side will finish the league stages of Super 12s with two games against the two qualifiers (November 2 and 7).
