Ahead of the high-octane clash against India in the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Saturday (October 23) warner Virat Kohli’s Team India and said that his side has a good bowling attack and everyone is experienced of playing in big tournaments like World Cups.


COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

The most anticipated encounter of the Super 12 stage will be played on Sunday between arch-rivals India and Pakistan. It will be after two years that these two teams will battle it out on the cricket field, after having last played in the ICC Men's 50-over World Cup in 2019.


"Every team has their own strength, our bowling has always been dominant. When you want to win a big tournament, the onus is on the bowlers to perform well, our bowlers are in good shape. They have experience of playing big tournaments like Champions Trophy, World Cup," said Babar while replying to an ANI query during a pre-match press conference.


"I am always focused on keeping things simple, I try to stick by my game and I just want to take it ball by ball," he added.



Pakistan has never won even a single match against India in the history of World Cups (50-over and 20-over).


"Our preparation is going well, we got good confidence by playing the warm-up games, we will try to give our best on the day. We have decided the 12 players that have been shortlisted for the game, we will name the eleven tomorrow," said Babar.


"It is about staying relaxed, we are in constant touch with all the players. It is about playing well on the day. We have played a lot of cricket here, we know the conditions and we know how to go about it. We have gone for the players that we felt would be the best for the clash against India," he added.


Asked whether Prime Minister Imran Khan had a special message for the team, Babar said: "We met PM Imran Khan before coming here, he shared anecdotes from the 1992 WC triumph, but he gave no special message to us."


Talking about India's record against Pakistan in World Cups, Babar said: "It is about keeping things simple, we need to focus on the basics. We just want to give our best. We should not think about the past, records are made to be broken, we are just focused on what lies ahead."


"It is a World Cup, you cannot take any game lightly. India Pakistan matches are always full of high intensity, you cannot be relaxed at any point. You have to do well in all three basics of the game -- batting, bowling, and fielding. It is not like our bowling is under pressure, we tried different things in the warm-up games. I have full confidence in my team," he added.