PAK vs AFG: 5 players to watch out for – Pakistan will take on Afghanistan in T20 World Cup Super 12 clash on Wednesday, with players from both the teams will look to deliver their best in this face-off. Pakistan has started off their campaign with two consecutive wins against India and New Zealand, whereas Afghanistan won their first match of T20 World Cup against Scotland on Monday. Follow InsideSport for live updates of T20 World Cup.
Pakistan has almost consolidated their position to qualify for the knockout and with 3rd win over Afghanistan will help them officially qualify for the final 4. Whereas Afghanistan will look for victory over Pakistan to make the contention for the knockout stage a little tough.
PAK vs AFG: 5 players to watch out for in Pakistan vs Afghanistan T20 World Cup match
InsideSport takes a top 5 players to watch out for in Pakistan vs Afghanistan encounter
1. Babar Azam (Pak): Babar Azam is undoubtedly one of the players to watch out for in Pakistan and Afghanistan match on Wednesday. Pakistan skipper is the top T20I batsman for the country and currently World No.2 batsman in the shortest format of the game. In T20I, Babar Azam has played 63 matches and aggregated 2281 runs for Pakistan. 31-year-old played one of his brilliant knocks, 68* off 52 balls against India in T20 World Cup on Sunday. Against Afghanistan, Babar Azam is expected to play some good knocks given the form he is in.
2. Rashid Khan (Afg): No Pakistan batsman can take Rashid Khan for granted. The 23-year-old has established himself as one of the best spinners in the world and his bowling can trap any batsman. Rashid Khan is currently the 4th highest wicket-taker in T20I, scalping 99 wickets from 52 matches and he requires only 1 wicket to join the 100 wickets club alongside Shakib Al Hassan, Lasith Malinga and Trent Boult.
In the Afghanistan’s opening match against Scotland in T20 World Cup, Rashid Khan had taken 4 wickets off just 9 runs. In the match against Pakistan, his spin bowling will be tested against Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman.
3. Shaheen Afridi (Pak): Shaheen Afridi is one of the key bowlers for Pakistan and to face him is pretty challenging thing for the opponent batsmen. His height, pace and swing bowling can struggle the batsmen. Shaheen Afridi’s ability to bowl in-swing yorkers will further trouble the batsmen. This was evident during his outing against India and New Zealand.
In T20I, Afridi has scalped 36 wickets from 32 matches so far for Pakistan. Given the batting-line of Afghanistan, Shaheen Afridi will definitely be the bowler who is not easy to handle.
PAK vs AFG: 5 players to watch out for in Pakistan vs Afghanistan T20 World Cup match
4. Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afg): Mujeeb Ur Rahman is yet another spinner who can see as a threat for Pakistan. The 20-year-old youngster started off his T20 World Cup campaign with a brilliant outing by picking up 5-fer off 20 runs against Scotland on Monday. In T20I, Mujeeb Ur Rahman has scalped 30 wickets from 20 matches so far for Afghanistan. He has emerged as Afghanistan’s spin bowler after Rashid Khan. Pakistan’s top order will be careful while playing against him.
5. Haris Rauf: After his 4-wicket against strong opponent New Zealand on Tuesday in T20 World Cup, Haris Rauf is another fast bowler whom the Pakistan will rely on. The 27-year-old is tough to handle for any batsman, given his ability to deliver to good short-ball and yorker. In T20I, Haris Raul has scalped 33 wickets from 25 matches for Pakistan since his debut in 2020. On Wednesday, Afghanistan batsmen will be up for the tough challenge against Haris Rauf.
PAK vs AFG: 5 players to watch out for in Pakistan vs Afghanistan T20 World Cup match
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