T20 World Cup 2021: Pakistan announce 12-man squad for India clash

India and Pakistan are all set to lock horns with each other for their opening fixture of the T20 World Cup. Ahead of the high-profile clash, Pakistan has announced their 12-man squad for the game. Earlier it was reported that Pakistan’s team management had decided to put a well-balanced team with a good mix of experienced players against India.

The squad appears to be quite balanced with experienced campaigners being included in the side. Babar Azam is one of the strongest links of Pakistan’s chain and will have a lot of hopes pinned on him to perform for the side. Shaheen Afridi who has impressed the cricketing fraternity with his performances will also be raring to make an impact in the tournament.

“Pakistan has decided to go with a combination of senior and experienced cricketers in the clash against India. Unless fitness issues creep up, the same combination that is playing in the warm-up matches will be seen in action against India,” a source had said as reported by Geo News.

As for the 12-man squad is concerned, Pakistan have decided to leave out Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz while Haider Ali has been included.

Marquee clash set to be played on Sunday

Pakistan and India will face each other on October 24. The contest between the two nations is a highly anticipated one wherein the cricket on-lookers have been raring to watch the action unfold. India, however, has a dominating record in the ICC events against the Men in Green.

India has won on seven occasions against their arch-rivals in 50 over World Cups whereas they have triumphed five times against them in the T20 World Cup. The two teams do not play any bilateral series against each other owing to the political tensions between the nations. They only face each other in the ICC events.

About the T20 World Cup, the Babar Azam-led side has played a lot of cricket in the UAE. This is expected to provide an edge to the team in the marquee event. The Pakistan captain had shed light on these aspects and said the team is well versed with the playing conditions.

“Definitely we have played a lot of cricket in the UAE. These conditions suit us and we know how to play here. We need to keep things simple in all the departments,” the Pakistan skipper had earlier asserted.

Here is Pakistan’s 12 man squad for the World Cup clash against India:

Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Rizwan(wk), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf