Younis Ahmed: “Australian pitches are bouncy and hard, where the ball comes faster in the air. Their grounds are also big and runs are not easy to come. We have Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as a complete package at the moment”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former batsman Younis Ahmed has backed Pakistan captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan to excel on the pitches in Australia.
The duo, who have both been in sensational form, will continue opening the batting for the men in green during the T20 World Cup.
Even though the conditions will be “bouncy and hard”, Younis still expects Azam and Rizwan to maintain their run-scoring momentum.
In the recent T20 tri-series against New Zealand and Bangladesh, Azam made 192 runs in five matches, which included two fifties, at an average of 48 and a strike-rate of 123.87.
Rizwan, meanwhile, accumulated 201 runs in five games, which also included two half-centuries, at an average of 50.25 and a strike-rate of 122.56.
“Australian pitches are bouncy and hard, where the ball comes faster in the air. Their grounds are also big and runs are not easy to come. We have Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as a complete package at the moment,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
The men in green will begin their 2022 T20 World Cup campaign against India on October 23 in Melbourne.
Pakistan’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood
Reserves: Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir