One of the most anticipated clashes of any ICC or Asia tournament is the India-Pakistan encounter, as both teams very rarely meet each other because of political reasons. The only times they face is whether in T20 World Cups, or ODI World Cups, or Champions Trophy or Asia Cup games.
Both these games generate the viewers so much excitement for the whole course of the game. Last time when these two neighbouring sides locked horns with each other during the last T20 World Cup in 2022, it was a very nervy clash as Virat Kohli carried India home from the jaws of defeat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
The revenue that the ICC earns from these battles are quite extra-ordinary as fans from various parts of the world come to see the clash.
‘Pakistan is a bit low before T20 World Cup 2024’ – Basit Ali
The former Pakistan player Basit Ali has raised a conversation in the recent comments that the ICC always have a goal of organizing two India-Pakistan games in the tournament to attract more attention.
Ali took his YouTube channel that even in this T20 World Cup, the ICC did everything to have two doses of the India-Pakistan encounters.
‘The ICC wants India and Pakistan to have two matches in the World Cup. They have made the schedule so the two teams ca meet again, either in the semi-final or final. The venue we will get to know in due course,” Former Pakistan player Basit Ali expressed on his YouTube channel.
The commercial viability reaches to anther level in the India-Pakistan games as the ICC expects the same even in this T20 World Cup in 2024.
The Pakistan team at the moment are playing England in a four-match T20I series. Babar Azam has faced quite a few issues in the captaincy position. Another former Pakistan cricketer Sikander Bakht questioned Babar’s psyche going into the T20 World Cup 2024, and how the team is structured only for three players.
‘The middle order has been a persistent concern, yet it seems this Pakistan team is designed around just three players- Babar (Azam), (Mohammad) Rizwan, Fakhar (Zaman). We had nine games leading up to the (T20) World Cup, but the middle order hardly got any practice. Iftikhar Ahmed was once again pushed down the order, and Shadab Khan was promoted,” Sikander Bakht lamented during a chat on Geo Super.
Also Read: IPL 2024: Gautam Gambhir Shares His Thoughts On Mitchell Starc’s ‘Unplayable’ Delivery
Shadab Khan has scored 635 runs in T20I at a strike rate of 140.79, while he has two runs short of 3000 T20 runs at a strike rate of 137.2, with two half-centuries.
‘I have said this before, and I am repeating it: Shadab has misconception that he is a good batter. Someone needs to tell him that he should bat lower. I wonder what sort of cricketers these are, but Babar Azam, doesn’t want to give away his place and won’t come down the batting order either.
“I can’t understand his captaincy. Babar Azam’s psyche is beyond understanding. So, it’s peculiar situation that goes beyond my understanding,” Bakht concluded in the same discussed.
Pakistan will start their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign on June 06 against the United States of America, while India will take on Ireland on June 05, in their opening fixture. Both teams will meet each-other in the T20 World Cup 2024 on June 09, at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.