Irfan Pathan says we need to be aware of the fact that Pakistan is not very good at spin bowling

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are one of the best T20 batters in the world while former India all-rounder Irfan talked about how the Indian bowlers should face the likes of Babar and Rizwan in the tournament high-octane clash.

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are one of the best T20 batters in the world. The opening combine’s performance is pivotal to Pakistan’s chances at the T20 World Cup. 

Pakistan will play their first game in the upcoming T20 World Cup against India on October 23 while all eyes will be on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. 

Former India all-rounder Irfan talked about how the Indian bowlers should face the likes of Babar and Rizwan in the tournament’s high-octane clash.

“Don’t give them any width whatsoever, especially Rizwan, because he’s the guy who takes the Powerplay on his shoulders. Just try to get the pace going. Babar takes his time. So, you need to be aware of those situations and those batters,”

Pathan said on Star Sports.

“First of all, the line has to be on the stumps, with tight lines. And with both batters, the length changes slightly. When it comes to Rizwan, you can afford to bowl fuller. You can try to hit him beneath the knee roll. This is where your line and length can be.

“And when it comes to Babar Azam, you need to get him out LBW, but your aim should not be on his front leg, it should be behind his leg because he’s slightly open. See, you need to make that kind of planning. This is where Arshdeep and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar come in with that in-swinging delivery. We need to be aware that Pakistan is not very good at spin bowling. So, you need to keep an eye on whether you can give one odd over to spinners in the Powerplay. You know, I’ll be very tempted to see what the team management is doing.”

India Squad for World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami. 

Standby Players: Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood. 

Standby Players: Usman Qadir, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani.