Pakistan’s former captain Shahid Afridi
| Photo Credit: AP

Former captain Shahid Afridi is confident Pakistan will once again reach the final of the T20 World Cup but expressed apprehension regarding the batters’ sluggish strike rate in the middle overs.

The former all-rounder added that Pakistan’s pace attack comprising Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abbas Afridi and Mohammad Amir is the best in the world.

“The thing that bothers me is the strike rate of our batters, especially in between the seven to thirteen over phase,” Afridi, who is a tournament ambassador for this edition of the T20 World Cup, told the ICC.

“I hope that the strike rate improves in that phase. In terms of runs per over, eight or nine runs per over are needed but still Pakistan are my favourite,” he added.

The 47-year-old, who was part of Pakistan’s title-wining team in 2009, feels the pacers will have a huge responsibility to deliver.

“I feel Pakistan should make the final. The reason is that the conditions (in West Indies and USA) suit our team.”

“I think in any cricket team in the world, nobody has such a strong bowling line-up. All our four fast bowlers have a lot of skill and even the bowlers sitting on the bench like Abbas (Afridi)…has a lot of skill with a good slower ball. It’s an incredible attack.

“If the players with such good skills enter this World Cup against world-class batters they will perform well. All the names will also have a huge responsibility over them.”

Pakistan had finished runner-up in the last edition of the marquee event, losing the summit clash by five wickets to England.

“If we look at the spinners in our team, they are outstanding. They might not be in form but I know they will return in form. In batting, we have great strength,” he added.

He backed skipper Babar Azam to have a good tournament.

“All players in the team are important. But if you look at the performances in the recent past, Babar, (Mohammad) Rizwan, Fakhar (Zaman), Shaheen, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shadab (Khan) — all of them play an important role and will be key at the World Cup.

“But if I had to pick one, I would pick the captain Babar Azam, because he is the leader. I want him to perform well, make timely decisions which will take the team to victory.”

Pakistan are placed in Group A with India, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts USA.

They play their first game against USA on June 6 in Dallas.

Nassau stadium in New York.
| Photo Credit: ICC

The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York has reached the final stages of completion less than a month before the start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

The four drop-in pitches cultivated with native Tahoma 31 Bermuda grass have now been installed at the ground while the north and south premium hospitality and media pavilions structures are on track for imminent completion.

Additional tickets for all the matches at the stadium, including the India vs Pakistan match, will be available through hospitality tickets inclusive of food and beverages.

Fans can be a part of history by grabbing their tickets on the official T20 World Cup website.

Nassau County International Cricket Stadium will witness its first match on 3 June when Sri Lanka takes on South Africa in their opening Group D encounter.

The 34,000-capacity stadium will also host the much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan on 9 June.

Meanwhile, anticipation for the T20 World Cup continues to soar, fueled by the release of the official anthem, ‘Out of this World,’ performed by Grammy award-winning artist Sean Paul and Soca superstar Kes getting the fans in the groove for the tournament.

“As we reach the final stages of construction of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium we are delighted to see a world-class facility ready for the best cricketers in the world. We can’t wait to see fans experience their own bit of history, with hospitality options across all matches in New York, including India and Pakistan, we would encourage fans to book now before they sell out,” said ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley while speaking about the stadium.

New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra, plays a shot, during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (KSCA), in Bengaluru on November 09, 2023.
| Photo Credit: K MURALI KUMAR

Kane Williamson will lead New Zealand in the T20 World Cup for the fourth time while opener Devon Conway, recovering from a thumb injury, has also been named in the 15-man provisional squad for the ICC event in USA and Caribbean in June.

The squad led by Williamson was named on Monday at the ANZ Centre here.

Conway was ruled out of the ongoing IPL due to a thumb injury he suffered in February.

Bowler Matt Henry and batting all-rounder Rachin Ravindra are the only two members of the 15 without T20 World Cup experience.

This will be Williamson’s sixth appearance in a T20 World Cup squad. His experience is bettered only by Tim Southee, who has earned selection in his seventh T20 World Cup squad and currently sits as the leading wicket-taker in the history of T20 Internationals.

Seasoned Trent Boult, who opted out of a NZC central contract, has been selected in his fifth T20 World Cup squad.

The squad also boasts significant recent experience in the conditions with 13 of the 15-man group featuring in the team’s last tour to the West Indies in 2022.

As well as that, six of the squad members have also featured in the Caribbean Premier League T20 competition.

Alongside the 15 players selected in the tournament squad, pace bowler Ben Sears will travel and train with the team as an injury cover.

Adam Milne was ruled out following surgery to repair an ankle injury, and Kyle Jamieson was also unavailable for selection as he continues to rehabilitate his back injury.

“I’d like to congratulate everyone named today. It’s a special time representing your country at a world tournament,” said Blackcaps head coach Gary Stead.

“We expect the venues in the West Indies to offer quite varied conditions and feel we’ve selected a squad with the scope to adapt to those conditions.”

Stead said he was delighted to name two first timers in Henry and Ravindra.

“Matt has worked exceptionally hard on his skills across the phases of a T20 game to come back into selection consideration,” he said.

“Rachin has made every post a winner in the past 12 months and it was exciting to see him continue that trajectory over the summer in the T20 format against Australia.”

Squad

Kane Williamson (C), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.

Ben Sears (Travelling Reserve).