T20 World Cup: Babar Azam advises Pakistan team to ‘believe in their skills’ against India

Dallas: Pakistan captain Babar Azam said it would be crucial for his side to keep themselves cool and calm, believe in their skills and hard work, which in turn will make things easier for them ahead of their highly-anticipated clash against India at New York on June 9.

Pakistan will open their 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup against USA at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on June 6, before flying to New York to take on India in a highly-anticipated clash at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.

India and Pakistan have clashed seven times previously in the T20 World Cup – twice in 2007 including the Final, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2021 and 2022. India have won on all occasions, barring the 2021 clash in Dubai, where they suffered a crushing ten-wicket defeat to Pakistan.

“An India-Pakistan match is always the most talked about; it is discussed too much wherever you go in the world. The players get different vibes and excitement. What will happen is that everyone supports their country, so the focus is on that match.”

“The whole world is focused on the day when the India-Pakistan match is held. Naturally, there will be nerves, but we need to keep our focus, stick to the basics and play easy cricket. It is always a pressure game; the more you keep cool and calm, believe in your skills and hard work, then things get easier,” said Azam in the latest episode of PCB Podcast.

Asked about the challenge of playing in USA conditions, Azam said, “Conditions in the USA may pose challenges as we are going there as a national side for the first time. We are in the process of collating various cricket and match-related information from players who have played there, which can help and assist us in our preparations.”

Azam is back to captaining Pakistan at a global event, after he stepped down from the top job post the side’s league stage exit in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. The right-handed batter is aiming to get one step ahead to clinch the coveted silverware, after ending up runners-up to England in 2022 T20 World Cup.

“I am happy and excited because when you go to play in a major event, you have different excitement. It’s the aim of any cricketer to play in a World Cup, so that kind of feeling is coming over me. The hope is always to lift the trophy, but for that to happen, we have to play top cricket against every side.”

“Our performances in the last two ICC Men’s T20 World Cups have been good. Unfortunately, we could not finish on a high. We were also runners-up in the ACC T20 Asia Cup 2022. So, at the back of our minds, we are thinking about how we have played two finals and a semi-final and how we can overcome the mistakes that derailed our campaigns.”

“Effort is in our hands, but results, we do not know. How we present ourselves on the ground, our body language and how we communicate with each other will matter. We must be positive, so results will come.”

“As a batter, I have achieved decently and, as a captain, I have won a few series. But lifting the ICC trophy is a different motivation. You go to a different level and get a lot of praise. So, the motivation, aspiration and dream remains to lift an ICC trophy and present it to Pakistan,” he concluded.

–IANS