Former gun fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has predicted that Pakistan will probably win the T20 World Cup and the final will be between India and Pakistan.
In fact, India and Pakistan had met in the final of the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup, which the former won by five runs as MS Dhoni led his team to glory.
Meanwhile, India has been a consistent team in all the three formats of the game whereas Pakistan have struggled to find the momentum. Pakistan was recently beaten by England by 3-0 in the ODI series and then the Babar Azam-led team also lost the T20I series against the English team by 2-1.
On the other hand, India’s second string team won the ODI series by 2-1 against Sri Lanka but lost the T20I series against the hosts after nine players were unavailable for selection as they had to go under isolation after Krunal Pandya was tested positive for Covid-19.
Shoaib Akhtar said while talking on his YouTube Channel, “Pakistan may not be a good team in ODIs but they are the best in T20Is. If Wahab (Riaz), Shoaib (Malik) and Imad Wasim come in, it will be even better. West Indies were very casual and if they play like this, Pakistan will become ruthless. Pakistan’s spinners are good enough to defend 150.”
“I can see Pakistan probably winning the T20 World Cup. According to me, Pakistan, West Indies, Afghanistan and India will be the contenders for the finalists. I am predicting an India-Pakistan T20 World Cup final. If that happens, it would be great since India are Pakistan are two of the best teams in T20 cricket.”
On the other hand, the Rawalpindi Express, as he was fondly known during his heydays, feels no team will want to make the mistake of taking Pakistan lightly in the T20 World Cup. In fact, it has been noticed that Pakistan can sometimes come up with inspiring performances whereas they can also have dull days.
“No team can take Pakistan lightly in T20s. Babar Azam has been doing well while Hasan Ali is the sharpest fast bowler around and is a smart operator. Mohammad Wasim Jr was good in the first game. He hit a batsman but again he needs to learn a lot of things. Mohammad Hafeez is a wily spinner who can win matches for the team with the ball. Coming back to Azam, a lot is being asked of him, and he is fulfilling most of the expectations. He was a Test match player, who emerged in ODIs first and then became a good Test batsman. Now, he is improving in T20Is as well.”
The T20 World Cup will begin from October 17 in the UAE and the final will be played on November 14.
