T20 World Cup
\nAustralian great believes Pakistan skipper Babar will be under extra pressure
\n KARACHI
\nPakistan cricket team\u2019s batting consultant Matthew Hayden feels that leadership will be the key for teams during the ICC T20 World Cup.
\nTalking to media online on Thursday, the former Australian cricketer also said that he has never seen a sports rivalry close to the rivalry of India and Pakistan in a cricket match.
\nHayden said that KL Rahul and Rishab Pant can be a threat to Pakistan in the high-voltage match on Sunday in Dubai.
\n\u201cI have more or less watched KL Rahul, who\u2019s a major threat to Pakistan, growing up as a boy seeing his struggles with Test matches versus his dominance in the shorter formats of the game. Seeing someone like Rishabh Pant, how he\u2019s destroyed bowling attacks because he\u2019s got that opportunity and sees it that way,\u201d he said about the Indian team\u2019s strength ahead of Pakistan\u2019s World Cup game against India.
\n\u201cOur camp has got some wonderful assets that are ready to perform on the day,\u201d he said while referring to the names of Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, and Mohammad Rizwan.
\n\u201cThe top three are a critical part of the performance here in the UAE. Generally speaking, the powerplay has been such a significant part of T20 cricket in the UAE, most sides that win the power play, win the match and you don\u2019t necessarily win the power play by being overly aggressive. So, I think that we have a very strong batting combination including Hafeez, as well,\u201d he said.
\nHayden highlighted that big totals in UAE are never going to be achieved and 200 plus totals are going to take something extraordinary on the day for that to happen.
\n\u201cSo average scores roughly in Abu Dhabi 170, in Sharjah 150 and in Dubai, that 170 potentially is kind of like what we\u2019re looking at. So, we\u2019re not talking about 10s and over from the start of it. I do think that we\u2019ve got a very, very balanced and strong batting lineup,\u201d he said.
\nReplying to a question, the batting consultant said that Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi have key roles to play in Pakistan\u2019s world cup campaign.
\nHe highlighted that Babar has his own role to play not only batsman but also as the captain and he will be under extra pressure as teams will try to target him.
\n\u201cAs you\u2019ve seen, throughout the IPL, the two dominant captain\u2019s here in the UAE were MS Dhoni and Eoin Morgan, even though their individual performances weren\u2019t as good as what they have previously done within but the way they lead their troops and conducted themselves is also an important part of the UAE. It is a real dog fight, the conditions and the margins for errors are very little. And, and so good leadership is going to be key,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI think Babar has that commands that presence and he commands that role and any needs to fulfill that role. On a batting sense as well. I think he is the premium player, he will be targeted. He will be he will also be the person that everyone is wanting to put in his pocket. And so yes, there\u2019s going to be additional pressure on him both as a captain and also as a batsman. But I sense that the way that he goes about it is going to be spot on,\u201d the former Australian batsman said.
\nThe Batting consultant also suggested that Fakhar Zaman should be playing at one-down position in Pakistan\u2019s batting lineup and added that the flamboyant batsman is such a player who can bat anywhere in the top four.
\n\u201cFakhar can play anywhere in those top four positions because he commands that performance. I think in the two games that he\u2019s played here in the UAE, he has performed very solid, he\u2019s also playing smart as well. I quite like him inside that as at number three that share anchor role because of his way that he\u2019s got this great ability to be able to assess the conditions quite quickly, then he can advance the game based on that partnership with Rizwan and Babar,\u201d he suggested.
\nTalking about the Indo-Pak rivalry, the former Australian cricketer said that India vs Pakistan rivalry provides an opportunity for all the players to write history.
\nHe added that he has seen many rivalries in sports, but nothing matches the rivalry of India and Pakistan on the cricket field.
\n\u201cThe pressure, though, is only as much as what you allow it to be. And all that can be done is done, your preparation is there, your experiences there, your opportunity now becomes a very history-making opportunity,\u201d he said about the pressure and importance of the India vs Pakistan game.
\n\u201cWe can present all the stats, we can do all of our homework and research but nothing can replace what will be the stat that we all write about that we all dream about, that we all coach about, or commentate on, which will be the event itself. I sense that our players are ready for that opportunity and I sense that there is a calmness around our group that would be a successful competitor on the day so all that is done is done and now it\u2019s just the opportunity of playing the game,\u201d the batting consultant of Pakistan team concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
T20 World Cup Australian great believes Pakistan skipper Babar will be under extra pressure KARACHI Pakistan cricket team\u2019s batting consultant Matthew Hayden feels that leadership will be the key for teams during the ICC T20 World Cup. Talking to media online on Thursday, the former Australian cricketer also said that he has never seen a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222771,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[195,194,20],"class_list":{"0":"post-222757","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-india","9":"tag-indo-pak","10":"tag-pakistan"},"yoast_head":"\n