Pakistan captain Babar Azam will be leading his team in a major ICC event for the first time in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup and will feel at home having played in UAE on many occasions.
The top-order batsman said that he is looking forward to leading Pakistan in the showpiece tournament.
"For Pakistan, the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 is like a home event as the UAE has been our venue for more than a decade. We have not only nurtured our talent and developed our side in the UAE but have also beaten the top sides in these conditions to peak to number-one in the ICC T20I Team Rankings," Babar said, as quoted by PTI.
"All the players are excited, motivated and enthusiastic, and view this tournament as an opportunity to showcase our prowess and re-establish our superiority in the shortest format of the game in conditions that suit us best,” he added.
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Pakistan are placed in Group 2 in the Super 12 stage and will start the tournament against arch-rival India on 24 October. They will then face New Zealand on 26 October and Afghanistan on 29 October. The team will end the group stage after facing the two qualifiers from Round 1 on 2 and 7 November.
"From a personal point of view, this will be my first ICC major event as Pakistan captain. I tasted success in 2017 and suffered disappointment in 2019 when we missed out on a semi-final spot by a fraction of a point despite beating both the finalists in league matches," Azam added.
Pakistan finished as runners-up in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and were crowned champions in 2009. The team reached semi-finals of the next two T20 World Cups. The previous two editions have been poor for the team as they exited out of the Super 10 stage.
Babar Azam and his team will hope to repeat the 2009 heroics this year.
(With PTI inputs)
