T20 World Cup 2021: Pakistan’s Babar Azam takes a dig at Virat Kohli-led India T20 side, says THIS

Babar Azam, who will make his captaincy debut in Indo-Pak clashes at the T20 World Cup, has explained why Virat Kohli’s side will have a hard time in crossing swords with his team.

India's Virat Kohli (left) and Pakistan captain Babar Azam. (Source: Twitter)

India and Pakistan are set to face off against each-other in a blockbuster T20 World Cup 2021 clash on October 24 this year. World’s top T20 batsmen Virat Kohli and Babar Azam will be leading India and Pakistan respectively and the war of words has already begun with more than a month left for the explosive clash.

Babar Azam, who will make his captaincy debut in Indo-Pak clashes at the T20 World Cup, has explained why Kohli’s side will have a hard time in crossing swords with his team. With the 2021 World Cup set to be contested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman, Babar Azam felt that the World Cup is like a home tournament for the 2009 world champions although India are actual hosts of the event.

“India will be under more pressure, as compared to Pakistan, during the T20 World Cup match as they have not played T20 cricket as a group for quite a while. India are currently playing Test cricket and after that, they will get busy with franchise cricket. The UAE is like our home ground and we will try to give our 100 percent on the field,” Babar Azam was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.

Azam-led Pakistan had recently announced the One Day International (ODI) squad for the bilateral series with New Zealand. Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim, Shahnawaz Dahani, and Zahid Mahmood have received their maiden call-ups for the New Zealand ODI series.

Following the announcement of the schedul, Azam had warned India and other participating teams that Pakistan will be a force to reckon with as for them the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will take place in UAE, is like a home event.

Speaking to the ICC website, Azam said, "For Pakistan, the T20 World Cup 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 No. 1 in the ICC T20I team rankings. 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.”

Babar Azam-led Pakistan will also face New Zealand and Afghanistan in Group 2 of the Super 12s stage, along with two qualifiers from Round 1. They will play New Zealand at the same venue on October 27 and take on Afghanistan in Dubai on October 29.