Shahid Afridi reveals one thing "that bothers him" about Pakistan team ahead of T20 WC

Islamabad [Pakistan], May 25 (ANI): Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi on Saturday emphasised that the national men's side should improve its middle-over strike rate in order to boost up its chances in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, starting from June 1 in West Indies and USA.

In the competition, Pakistan is placed in Group A along with arch-rivals India, Ireland, USA and Canada. It will start its campaign against the USA on June 6 before playing arch-rivals India in a high-octane clash at New York's Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.

Afridi said that during the middle overs, especially overs 7-13, Pakistan should be targeting eight to nine runs per over.

"The thing that bothers me is the strike rate of our batters, especially in between the seven to thirteen over phase. I hope that the strike rate improves in that phase. In terms of runs per over, eight or nine runs per over are needed but still Pakistan is my favourite," said Shahid as quoted by ICC.

And while Afridi was reluctant to single out one player who needed to have a good tournament for Pakistan to win a second T20 World Cup title after 2009, the former star all-rounder knows Babar Azam must lead from the front in his role as captain.

"All players in the team are important. But if you look at the performances in the recent past, Babar (Azam). (Mohammad) Rizwan, Fakhar (Zaman), Shaheen (Afridi), Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shadab (Khan) - all of them play an important role and will be key (for Pakistan) at the World Cup.

"But if I had to pick one, I would pick the captain Babar Azam, because he is the leader."

"I want him to perform well, and make timely decisions which will take the team to victory," he concluded.

Babar has led Pakistan in 80 T20I games, winning 46, losing 26. Seven matches ended in a no result. His winning percentage as a skipper is 57.50 per cent. Babar is also the third-highest run-getter in the T20I format. In 118 matches, he has scored 3,955 runs at an average of 41.19 and a strike rate of 129.97, with three centuries and 36 fifties. Above him are Indian stars skipper Rohit Sharma (3,974 runs in 151 matches) and Virat Kohli (4,037 runs in 117 matches).

Also, Pakistan is locking horns with England in the second T20I at Birmingham on Saturday, in a four-match series. The first game was abandoned due to rain. Pakistan on Friday evening announced their 15-player squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, with Babar Azam leading the Men in Green in the marquee event scheduled to kick off on June 1.

Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan

Player support personnel: Wahab Riaz (senior team manager), Mansoor Rana (team manager), Gary Kirsten (head coach), Azhar Mahmood (assistant coach), Simon Helmot (fielding coach), David Reid (mental performance coach), Aftab Khan (high-performance coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Irtaza Komail (chief security officer), Mohammad Imran (masseur), Mohammad Khurram Sarwar (team doctor), Talha Ijaz (analyst), Raza Kitchlew (media and digital manager) and Drikus Saaiman (strength and conditioning coach). (ANI)