Live Tv
Rtv Plus
Pakistan to play in World Cup final, Shahid Afridi predicted
Online Desk
04 Jun 2024, 22:49
Photo: Collected
Babar Azam lost the series against New Zealand at home series, Though they won the series against Ireland but lost the first match. Pakistan has completed the World Cup preparations after losing to England.
However, former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi is very confident about playing the final of the ongoing World Cup.
While speaking on the PCB Podcast on Tuesday (June 4), Afridi predicted that the team could make it to the final of the tournament.
He said that the whole team should support Babar, especially the seniors. When the captain takes a decision, he should take it fearlessly. I am confident that Pakistan will play the final match of the World Cup.
Babar's team will play their first match against hosts USA on June 7. Pakistan's last group stage matches will be against arch-rivals India on June 9, Canada on June 12 and Ireland on June 16.
Comments
Why USA is the host of T20 World Cup?
Out of the 55 matches of the current T20 World Cup, 16 will be played in the United States, while the rest will be played in the West Indies. This Caribbean country has a glorious cricket history. But why is the World Cup being held in USA even if it does not have it?
Although the United States is not a big platform for cricket, but it is the country of football, basketball and baseball. But the first international cricket match hosted in the United States. The match was played by USA against Canada in 1844. The first Test match in the world was played between England and Australia in 1882.
In 2021, USA was announced as the host of T20 World Cup along with West Indies. Parag Marathi, head of USA Cricket, said that the ICC sees the USA as a strategic market for growth, which is necessary for the development of cricket in the world. Apart from this, the ICC thinks that US cricket will also go forward in this.
Cricket in the United States has seen progress in recent times. Like IPL, Major League Cricket or MLC has started in USA. People like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayan have invested in MLC. And cricketers like Jason Roy of England, Sunil Narine of West Indies, Trent Boult of New Zealand, Rabada of South Africa have played in MLC.
T20 World Cup: Which teams are favorites to win
The ninth edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup runs from June 1 to June 29, and the 2024 champions will be crowned at the Kensington Oval Stadium in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Here mentions some favorites to win in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024-
India, the tournament’s first-ever winner, are the hot favourites to win the latest edition of the T20 World Cup at this stage. Led by Rohit Sharma, and containing stars like Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli, the Men in Blue could be a real handful at the tournament.
Besides, India has a balanced team with brilliant technicians, power-hitters, top spinners, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Former India legend Yuvraj Singh stated that if India plays to their potential, they might end up lifting the coveted trophy.
2021 winners Australia is second favourites for the cup. Having won the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup in 2023, they will be looking to become the first team to hold all three ICC trophies simultaneously.
Defending champions England come in third.
England will try to defend their crown and lift the trophy for a record third time. But standing in their way will be 19 other teams, some of whom have won it all in the past and others who will look to leave their mark on the tournament for the first time.
West Indies have long been known for their powerful batting and prowess in the shortest format of the game. On home turf this time around, they will be looking to win the T20 World Cup for the third time.
Pakistan, led by Babar Azam, both as captain and in batting prowess, and Shaheen Shah Afridi with the ball, Pakistan cannot be ruled out as potential winners despite their seventh position in the ICC T20 team rankings.
Today's Sports on TV including T20 World Cup
England and Scotland face each other today (June 4) in T20 World Cup. On the other hand, the quarter final phase of the 'French Open' also started today. Apart from this there are several games.
ICC T20 World Cup
England-Scotland
8:30 PM, Nagorik TV and Toffee
Netherlands-Nepal
9:30 PM, Star Sports 2 and Select 1
French Open
Quarter finals
3 pm, Sony Sports 2 and 5
International friendlies football
Italy-Turkey
1pm, Sony Sports 1
Pakistan to play in World Cup final, Shahid Afridi predicted
Babar Azam lost the series against New Zealand at home series, Though they won the series against Ireland but lost the first match. Pakistan has completed the World Cup preparations after losing to England.
However, former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi is very confident about playing the final of the ongoing World Cup.
While speaking on the PCB Podcast on Tuesday (June 4), Afridi predicted that the team could make it to the final of the tournament.
He said that the whole team should support Babar, especially the seniors. When the captain takes a decision, he should take it fearlessly. I am confident that Pakistan will play the final match of the World Cup.
Babar's team will play their first match against hosts USA on June 7. Pakistan's last group stage matches will be against arch-rivals India on June 9, Canada on June 12 and Ireland on June 16.
What India is getting from ICC to beat Pakistan?
India has always been the favorite to play in ICC tournaments. This year's T20 World Cup is no exception. Experienced players like Rohit-Kohli and young cricketers like Suryakumar-Jaiswal will go to the field to win the trophy.
Meanwhile, India has more facilities than any other team in ICC events. Where a large number of cricket fans of India play a special role. Because, the ICC earns crores of rupees by them. So the ICC has a different importance towards India matches.
There has been a storm of criticism about the character of this stadium made with a drop-in pitch. Because, Sri Lanka and South Africa struggled to play the first match. So many discussions have started about the India-Pakistan match.
However, it is more likely to beat Pakistan by a big margin in that match.
Because, the ICC has put a lot of work ahead. Pakistan will play for the first time with India at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, but before that, India will play two matches at the ground. So India will understand the character well on the field. Where Pakistan will face completely a backward position.
Shakib regains top spot in ICC T20I all-rounder rankings from Hasaranga
Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga replaced Shakib Al Hasan at the top of the ICC T20 all-rounder rankings.
However, he could not hold this place for long. Tiger posterboy has returned by defeating the Sri Lankan all-rounder within a week.
The ICC released the rankings update on Wednesday (June 5). Where Hasaranga has been downgraded. Shakib has regained his throne.
Hasaranga was ineffective in their first match against South Africa in the World Cup on Monday (June 3). With the ball, he took 2 wickets for 22 runs in 3.2 overs, but returned to the pavilion with a total of 2 runs with the bat. Thus, He lost 6 rating points.
Mohammad Nabi, Sikandar Raza and Marcus Stoinis are the other three players in the top five T20 all-rounders.
On the other hand, there is no change in the top rankings of batters and bowlers. India's Suryakumar Yadav, England's Phil Salt and Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan are the top three batsmen.
England's Adil Rashid, Sri Lanka's Hasaranga and India's Axar Patel are in the top three bowlers.
Bangladesh face off Sri Lanka to kick-start T20 World Cup
Despite a fragile batting line up, Bangladesh hope to make a winning start to the T20 World Cup when they take on Sri Lanka at Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas on Saturday. The match starts at 6.30 AM Bangladesh time.
Bangladesh though looked high on confidence, their performance ahead of the T20 World Cup was extremely disappointing. The series defeat to associate nation USA sparked a massive uproar back in the country and if it is not enough, they surrendered to India meekly in the practice game.
Overall they looked not a team to move to the next round in the T20 World Cup. However Sri Lanka's below par performance in their opening game against South Africa suddenly gave Bangladesh a ray of hope.
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 77 in that match as they failed to cope with the slower nature of the pitch. Bangladesh's main problem lies in their batting but their bowling continued to prosper, giving the opponent batters massive headache. And the slower nature of the pitch further instilled confidence in Bangladesh's tent.
The Dallas and New York's drop in pitch had already given a resemblance of Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium pitch. Bangladesh basically will rely on the pitch to hunt down Sri Lanka which looks to be morally down following the crushing defeat in the first match.
But Bangladesh need to rewrite the history. Bangladesh's journey in T20 World Cups had started with a bang in 2007 when they grabbed a convincing win over the West Indies in their opening match of the tournament in South Africa.
However that win against West Indies remains Bangladesh's only victory over a higher-ranked team in the tournament so far. In the last T20 World Cup in Australia, they notched up three victories, highest ever in a single tournament but all of those victories came against lower ranked side.
Bangladesh played 16 T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka and won five while lost 11. Amongst the top-ranked team, Bangladesh secured highest number of victories against Sri Lanka. That should be another source of confidence for them.
"We are not thinking about what has happened before. We know how capable we are, we have to be brave and execute our plans," Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said.
Bangladesh were drawn in Group D which involved teams like South Africa, Nepal and Netherlands apart from Sri Lanka. Bangladesh need to beat at least a top-ranked team between Sri Lanka and South Africa if they want to move to Super 8.
While Shanto urged to be bold in the approach, veteran batter Mahmudullah Riyad believes a good start to the tournament will be a boost for the team.
"Everything relies on how we start the tournament. We need to have a good start. I believe if we make a good start, we'll go long way," he said.
Sri Lanka meanwhile will be in some pressure, knowing that if they can't beat Bangladesh, they would have to rely on many ifs and buts.
Sri Lanka's captain Wanindu Hasaranga is confident that his team will overcome the pressure to beat Bangladesh in their most important game.
Bangladesh might be bolstered by the return of fast bowler Taskin Ahmed who missed series against USA and practice matches due to his side strain injury. But at the same time, they lost their left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam who sustained an injury during his bowling hand in the practice game against
India.
Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Travelling reserves: Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud.
Sri Lanka squad: Wanindu Hasaranga (c), Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Dilshan Madushanka.
Source: BSS
