Wahab Riaz, Pakistan pacer, in an interview with PakPassion.net, claimed that the Men in Green Pakistan can beat India during the upcoming T20 World Cup. The 36-year-old believed that Pakistan could beat any team in the world if it played up to its potential.
Wahab Riaz: Pakistan Has The Ability To Beat India In 2021 T20I World Cup If It Plays To Its Potential
India and Pakistan haven’t been playing any bilateral series for a long time now (since 2012-13) with the political issues going on but they have been meeting in the ICC tournaments or the Asia cup.
The T20I World Cup 2021 group stages will also feature India and Pakistan taking on each other on October 24 and the excitement has already started. Pakistan has never beaten India in any World Cup T20 or ODI game and they will be looking to break the streak in the upcoming fixture in the group stages.
“They definitely have the ability to achieve that result. If Pakistan plays to its potential, then they can beat any team in the world including India.
“Twenty20 cricket is such a format that the whole match can turn in the space of a few balls or even one incident and the Pakistan versus India match will be no different. If Pakistan play at their best, they can certainly beat India,” Wahab Riaz said.
“Given the conditions and where it’s being held, I believe Pakistan has a very good chance of winning the tournament. Pakistan has played a lot of cricket in UAE, and this gives them a very good chance to win the competition.
“They’ll be familiar with the conditions, and they’ll know what the ball will do. If they can utilize the conditions and use them to their advantage, then there is no reason why they can’t be considered amongst the leading contenders for the title,” he added.
Pakistan has been in an excellent run of form in 2021 as they started off with two consecutive home and away series wins against South Africa. They won the next T20I series against Zimbabwe as well but couldn’t get past the line in England where they lost the series 1-2. Their previous series against West Indies ended in their favour as well with a 1-0 win in the four-match rain-hit series.
After the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka squad during a bilateral series in Pakistan in 2009, Pakistan was banned by ICC from hosting any international games due to security concerns. Their home matches were shifted to UAE later, and the country observed UAE as their home ground for many years in the last decade. Now, the situation has improved in Pakistan and their home matches are being scheduled in their own country.
Wahab Riaz Feels He Has To Perform As It’s Up To The Selectors To Include Him Or Not For T20I World Cup
The fiery pacer stated that he had nothing to prove while revealing that the final decision of his inclusion in the squad rested with the national selectors.
“If it was up to me, then yes you will. But it’s up to the selectors who they want included in the side and who they think will provide the maximum utility. As a player, all you can do is to perform and that’s what my aim is and that’s what I am doing around the world.”
“Lately, I’ve played in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and I have shown what I am capable of, and I don’t think I have to prove it again and again. Regardless of what they feel, I am performing well wherever I am getting a chance to play. So, let’s see what the selectors have in mind and whether they want me to be a part of future squads is totally up to them,” Wahab Riaz concluded.
Wahab Riaz hasn’t been in the Pakistan T20 side for a long time now and he will be looking for a comeback in the T20 World Cup squad.
Wahab Riaz has so far played 27 Tests, 91 ODIs, and 36 T20I games for Pakistan. He has bagged 83 wickets in Tests and 120 in ODIs. In T20Is, he accounts for 34 scalps. Since December 2020, he has not represented the national side but was active in franchise T20 league Pakistan Super League 2021 (PSL).