KEY POINTS
- Ashwin highlights Pakistan’s opening pair and Shaheen Afridi’s bowling as key strengths.
- He cites concerns over Babar Azam’s middle-order role and the team’s death bowling.
- Pakistan’s knockout matches will be played in Colombo if they progress.
ISLAMABAD: Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has identified Pakistan as a serious threat for the forthcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The analyst shared his tactical assessment on his digital platform, diverging from regional partisanship to praise the strengths of the neighbouring squad.
‘A really, really good shot’
Setting aside traditional rivalries, Ashwin offered a clear-eyed evaluation of Pakistan’s chances in the tournament, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
“Some people might not like this, but I’m going to talk about cricket,” Ashwin stated. “I feel that Pakistan has a really, really good shot in this World Cup.”
He dedicated a segment of his analysis to dissecting the Pakistani lineup, pinpointing both their formidable assets and potential vulnerabilities.
Pakistan’s key strength
Ashwin pinpointed Pakistan’s top order and new-ball bowling as critical advantages.
He highlighted the aggressive opening combination of Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub, noting the latter’s impact in the initial overs.
“Their biggest strength is their opening pair,” he asserted. Complementing this, he lauded the economic powerplay bowling of spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, who maintains an impressive economy rate of 6.5.
Ashwin also valued the spin options of Mohammad Nawaz for his control and Abrar Ahmed for his ‘novelty factor.’
Areas of concern in the lineup
The veteran cricketer did not shy away from outlining perceived weaknesses.
He expressed concern over the repositioning of star batsman Babar Azam to the middle order and questioned the sharpness of the death bowling from Shaheen and Naseem Shah.
He also noted a dip in all-rounder Shadab Khan’s form but balanced this by acknowledging the promising economy rate of spinner Usman Tariq and the explosive strike rate of newcomer Khawaja Nafay.
“Overall, Pakistan has strengths and weaknesses,” Ashwin summarised, “but they do have Salman Ali Agha, who often doesn’t get mentioned.”
Pakistan’s World Cup roadmap
Pakistan begins its campaign against the Netherlands in Colombo on February 7, with further group-stage matches against the USA and Namibia.
Notably, the team will not play its scheduled high-voltage match against arch-rivals India on February 15, following a directive from the Pakistani government.
Team progression to the Super Eight stage is contingent on a top-two finish in their group.
Furthermore, ICC protocols state that if Pakistan reaches the semi-finals or final, those knockout matches will be held in Colombo; otherwise, they are scheduled for Kolkata and Ahmedabad, respectively.
Pakistan Squad for T20 World Cup
Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Usman Tariq.
