Saqlain Mushtaq, Pakistan’s head coach, remarked that the players poured their heart and soul into their first two T20 World Cup 2021 matches against India and New Zealand, respectively. He urged his players to keep the same level of focus, attitude, and philosophy heading into the event.
Pakistan had a strong start to the T20 World Cup 2021, winning both of their opening matches against India and New Zealand. Pakistan defeated India by 10-wickets in Dubai, their first World Cup victory against subcontinent rivals, before defeating New Zealand by five wickets in Sharjah. The 2009 winners are presently comfortably atop the points table and have a good chance of reaching the semi-finals.
In summarising the team’s progress in the competition thus far, interim head coach Saqlain Mushtaq noted that the players poured their heart and soul into the first two matches, and he urged his players to carry confidence and self-belief forward from these games. The 44-year-old described his squad as “powerful” and “dangerous” because of their reckless style of cricket.
“In the first two games, the lads gave it their all. We need to carry on the confidence and self-belief we gained from those two matches. We must play that kind of cricket and execute our plans with that attitude regardless of who we face, whether it is Afghanistan or any other team. “It will come back to bite us if we don’t do that,” Mushtaq remarked.
“It’s a formidable force. We can’t just say, “That’s extremely simple, and you’ll roll over them.” They have a fantastic bowling assault, particularly the spinners, and they bat anyway they want. They basically play a daring kind of cricket. That type of squad, in my opinion, is potentially hazardous. It’s a mega-event, the World Cup. “You have to play all the teams with the same energy, attitude, and philosophy,” he added.
Pakistan will face Afghanistan in their next encounter on Friday, October 29 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
