T20 World Cup 2021: “I can't think of leaving him out, he is my main bowler” - Babar Azam throws weight behind struggling pacer ahead of semis

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has backed struggling pacer Hasan Ali and out-of-form batter Fakhar Zaman to come good in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021.

Pakistan will take on Australia in the second semi-final of the ICC event at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Although Pakistan are unbeaten in the T20 World Cup 2021 so far, the form of Hasan and Fakhar remains a concern.

While Hasan has claimed only five wickets and has proved to be expensive, Fakhar has registered a highest score of 30. Speaking at a press conference ahead of the knockout clash, Azam threw his weight behind both the struggling cricketers.

Describing Hasan as a big match player, the Pakistan captain said:

"I can't think of leaving him out. He is my main bowler. He has won us matches, won us tournaments. Ups and downs are part of anyone's career and when you are little down, you must back your key player and the whole team is behind him. He is mentally very strong and I believe he is a big match player and will deliver in semi-finals.”

Asked about Fakhar’s run of low scores, Azam pointed out that all the batters cannot perform together in one game. Backing the left-hander, he stated:

"You want 11 players to perform? It doesn't work like that in cricket, three to four players perform in a match. Two batters perform in a game. Every player can't perform in one match. The way Fakhar is playing, he has been given all the confidence. On his day, he can change the game on his own and I have full confidence he will do it in the coming games.”

Fakhar is best remembered for scoring a hundred in the 2017 Champions Trophy final against India. He is among the few batters to have hit a double hundred in ODIs.

“We want to get 45-50 runs in the powerplay” - Babar Azam

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Pic: Getty Images

Pakistan are the only unbeaten side in the T20 World Cup heading into the semis. One of the standout features of their performance has been their powerplay strategy. They have not gone too hard at the start but have been able to build a solid foundation with their openers, one of them being the captain himself.

Asked to shed light on the plan with the bat at the start of the innings, Azam explained:

"We do plan to get 45-50 runs in the first six overs but sometimes, we are not able to execute. It is important to not lose wickets initially and our middle order can take it up later. In these conditions, we want to get 45-50 runs in the powerplay.”

Pakistan kicked off their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign with a historic 10-wicket triumph over India in Dubai and have not looked back since.