Credit: X/PCB
With the T20 World Cup just a few weeks away, the hype surrounding the highly-anticipated India versus Pakistan clash in New York has only intensified and both teams have set their sights on crossing the hurdle of intense rivalry before fulfilling their quest for a major trophy. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam already acknowledged this threat as he talked about conquering Virat Kohli and the Indian team on June 9.
In their press conference before departure to Ireland, Babar Azam talked about tackling Indian star Virat Kohli, who has displayed an exhilarating show against Pakistan in the showpiece event over the years, before putting the light on preparation against the Indian team as a whole.
During the period 9 minutes 52 seconds in the press conference, a reporter asked the 29-year-old of plans against Kohli and India to which Babar replied, “As a team, you always plan against different teams and according to their strengths. We don’t plan anything against only one player. We plan for all 11 players.”
Adding about the conditions in the USA, he said, “We don’t know much about the conditions in New York and we will plan accordingly. He [Virat Kohli] is one of the best players and we will plan against him as well.” Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli has accumulated 488 runs in 10 matches with an excellent average of 81.33 against Men in Green.
He didn’t perform in PSL: Babar on Mohammad Haris’ exclusion from T20 World Cup 2024 squad
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was also questioned about the exclusion of the young hitting sensation Mohammad Haris from the squads of the Ireland series and T20 World Cup 2024. Stating the reason for dropping Haris from the showpiece event, Babar blamed his poor run in the recently concluded ninth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Telling the reason for Haris’ omission from the squad, he said, “I do agree Mohammad Haris didn’t get opportunities the way he should have. However, he didn’t perform in PSL 9. Haris is not a bad player but only undergoing a bad patch. Further, there are a lot of top-order batters in the T20 squad of Pakistan.”
Pakistan is set to underway their preparations for the T20 World Cup with a T20I series against Ireland and England. They will play three T20I matches in Ireland on May 10, 12, and 14 before heading to England for four matches. Their first match in the T20 World Cup will be against the United States of America on June 6 before squaring off against their arch-rivals India on June 9 in New York.
