Former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis has announced his own 15-man Pakistan squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in late June.
Waqar Younis not only included the players currently being played against in the 5-match T20I series New Zealand but also those who are currently injured. The Men in Green will be looking to get their hands on the T20 World Cup trophy that has eluded them since they won the 2009 edition.
Pakistan wants to break its trophy drought
In fact, in the two previous editions in 2021 and 2022, Pakistan had come extremely close or closer than ever to winning the trophy. In the 2021 edition, when the T20 World Cup was held in the United Arab Emirates, Babar Azams The team was eliminated in the semi-finals against Australia.
The following year (2022), the Pakistanis reached the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the most dramatic situation.
The Men in Green initially came close to being eliminated in the group stage, but then reached the semi-finals and then the final.
And when they finally wanted to lift their first ICC trophy since 2017, Jos Buttler’s England delegate stood in their way. The Three Lions won their second white-ball trophy in three years after winning the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
All these reasons make this T20 World Cup in USA and West Indies an important one for Pakistan. But their preparation games leading up to the 20-team tournament are not going as planned.
In the 4th T20I against the Kiwis in Lahore last night, Babar’s men suffered their second consecutive defeat after losing the 3rd T20I by 7 wickets.
A loaded Pakistan team lost by 4 runs to an inexperienced Blackcaps team and heading into the 5th T20I, the hosts trail the series 2-1.
Waqar Younis assembles his 15-man Pakistan squad
At the pre-match show of Pakistan and New Zealand’s 4th T20I at the Gaddafi Stadium, Waqar Younis announced his selection for Pakistan’s 15-man squad. Among the batters, Younis picked captain Babar Azam along with Mohammad Rizwan, Usman Khan, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub.
Among the spin bowling all-rounders, Waqar Younis chose Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim as well as wrist-spinners Abrar Ahmed and Usama Mir. Among the pacers, Younis obviously chose Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir and Haris Rauf.
On paper, this team looks very threatening as Pakistan seem to have all bases covered, but the main question is: will they reflect this on the field? With the return of Babar Azam as captain, the Green Army has an experienced leader at its side.
But the last time Pakistan took part in an ICC event under Babar’s captaincy, they themselves were eliminated from the league stage. The team is not what it was in 2021 and 2022 and it will be interesting to see if Waqar Younis’ prediction about the Pakistan squad turns out to be true.
Waqar Younis Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup 2024
Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Usman Khan, Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Imad Wasim, Abrar Ahmed, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir, Haris Rauf