T20 World Cup 2021: “Pakistan openers need to be more aggressive” - Kamran Akmal

Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal feels their openers need to be more proactive when it comes to scoring in the powerplay overs in the T20 World Cup 2021.

Pakistan defeated West Indies by seven wickets in their first warm-up encounter, but went down to South Africa by six wickets in the second. Mohammad Rizwan failed in both matches, scoring 13 and 19 respectively. His opening partner, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, made 50 off 41 against the Windies before being dismissed for 15 off 12 versus the Proteas.

Sharing his views on Pakistan’s opening pair, Akmal reckoned that the duo will need to up the ante at the start of their innings. The 39-year-old said on his YouTube channel:

“Pakistan scored 186 against a top-quality South African attack in the second warm-up match. But Pakistan’s openers need to be a little more aggressive. If that happens, the team will be in better shape. The way they have batted in the warm-ups, it shows that they can chase even 180 with this line-up if they plan things in a proper manner.”

Akmal added that the middle and lower order batted impressively to lift the tempo in the match against South Africa. He elaborated:

“In the first six overs against South Africa, there were not many runs. But, the other batters made up for it. Shoaib Malik batted well and it was good that Asif Ali got a chance to bat. He smashed 32 off 18, this is exactly what Pakistan need from their No. 6. The fifth and sixth position in T20s is very significant.”

Responding to Pakistan’s 186 for 6, South Africa got home by six wickets as Rassie van der Dussen smashed an unbeaten 101 off 51 balls.

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Shadab Khan needs to take wickets: Kamran Akmal analyzes Pakistan’s bowling

Speaking about Pakistan’s bowling, Akmal stated that while leg-spinner Shadab Khan will need to pick up wickets, pacer Shaheen Afridi must work on his economy rate. The keeper-batter explained:

“In the bowling, Pakistan need to get wickets in the middle. Shadab Khan's performance will be crucial. He needs to take wickets. Shaheen's (Afridi) economy has been on the higher side in the last few games. He needs to work on that. No doubt he is a good bowler but in the last few games, he has been a bit costly. Hasan Ali is in good rhythm but Haris Rauf has again been expensive. We have options to utilize a few players but it's time to deliver.”

While Afridi claimed 2 for 41 against West Indies and 2 for 30 versus South Africa, Shadab went wicketless in both matches. Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf have had a mixed run. They claimed two wickets each against the Windies but had figures of 0/52 (4 overs) and 0/33 (3 overs) respectively in the loss to the Proteas.