DUBLIN (Ireland) : Pakistan captain Babar Azam said the team will be planning their tactics against star India batter Virat Kohli for the high-octane clash with Men in Blue in the ICC T20 World Cup at West Indies/USA this year.
Babar made this statement ahead of his side’s T20I series against Ireland from March 10 onwards, which consists of three T20Is to be played in Dublin. The highly-anticipated clash between two arch-rivals will take place on June 9 in New York.
During the last T20 Cup clash between these two sides back in 2022, Virat played one of the most iconic knocks in the format, scoring 82* in just 53 balls, with six fours and four sixes during a tense run-chase of 160 runs when India was 31/4 at one point.
Speaking at the media conference on Monday, Babar said that though the team does not plan against one particular player, but they will be planning against Virat, who he called as “one of the best players.”
“As a team, you always plan against different teams and according to their strengths. We do not plan anything against one player. We plan for all 11 players. We do not know much about the conditions in New York and we will plan accordingly. He [Virat Kohli] is one of the best players and we will plan against him as well,” he said.
Virat has an exceptional record against Pakistan in T20Is. In 10 matches, he has scored 488 runs at an average of 81.33 and a strike rate of over 123, with five half-centuries. His best score is 82*.
Here is the schedule for Pakistan’s tour to Ireland and England ahead of the T20 World Cup. In the T20 WC, India and Pakistan are in Group A along with Ireland, Canada and USA. Pakistan will start its campaign against USA on June 6.
Ireland series: May 10: First T20I, Dublin; May 12 Second T20I, Dublin; May 14: Third T20I, Dublin
England series: May 22: First T20I, Leeds; May 25: Second T20I, Birmingham; May 28: Third T20I, Cardiff; May 30: Fourth T20I, London.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (C), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan. (ANI)