ICC wants India and Pakistan to have two matches in World Cup: Basit Ali
"They have made the schedule so the two teams can meet again either in the semi-final or final," said Basit.
India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series since 2012. The Asian rivals have only found the global events as a stage to lock horns with each other. Having said that, both teams will be clashing with each other in the upcoming T20 World Cup on June 9 in New York. The ticket prices have skyrocketed and viewership is expected to surpass previous records. Amidst all this, former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has claimed that ICC wants India and Pakistan to face off twice in the tournament.
India and Pakistan are placed in Group A of the T20 World Cup. The top two teams from the group will foray into the Super 8 stage followed by the semifinals. Basit feels that it is imperative that another Indo-Pak clash will take place given the scheduling of fixtures in the tournament. He also added the Indian team appears rock solid, same could not be said about the Pakistan camp given their form.
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"The ICC wants India and Pakistan to have two matches in the World Cup. They have made the schedule so the two teams can meet again either in the semi-final or final. The venue we will get to know in due course. Now, it all depends on performance. Pakistan is a bit low on their form, while India, on the other hand, has played IPL and looks in good shape. For Pakistan to perform well, Babar must open," Basit said in a video on his YouTube channel.
India and Pakistan expected to lead the group stage
The Asian giants have Ireland, Canada, and the United States of America as their competitors in Group A. Both India and Pakistan are expected to surpass the group stage hurdle making their potential second tussle possible as knockouts beckon.
India ICC T20 World Cup 2024 squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan
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