Babar Azam Encourages Team Pakistan To Stay Positive For T20 World Cup

Babar Azam's Pakistan cricket team faces significant pressure ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 following their recent performances in the last three T20I series. Initially, they played a 2-2 draw against New Zealand at home before travelling to Ireland, where they lost the first T20I.

The Men in Green managed to bounce back by winning the subsequent T20Is and securing the series. However, they struggled in England, losing two games while the remaining two matches were abandoned due to rain. This inconsistency has left Pakistan without any T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up games.

Pakistan is now gearing up to face the USA in their tournament opener in New York, lacking experience of playing together as a team in the country. Despite these challenges, Babar Azam has urged his team to remain positive.

"Effort is in our hands, but results, we do not know," Babar said in an episode of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) podcast released on Sunday. "How we present ourselves on the ground, our body language and how we communicate with each other will matter. We must be positive, so results will come."

Babar acknowledged that conditions in the USA might pose challenges as Pakistan is playing there as a national side for the first time. "We are in the process of collating various cricket and match-related information from players who have played there, which can help and assist us in our preparations," he added.

Pakistan, who won the T20 World Cup in 2009, have shown strong performances in recent editions of the ICC event. They reached the semi-finals in 2021 and were runners-up to England in 2022.

This year, Pakistan is placed in Group A alongside India, USA, Canada, and Ireland. Their much-anticipated match against arch-rivals India is scheduled for June 9 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. Historically, Pakistan has faced India seven times at the T20 World Cup, winning only once.

Babar Azam spoke about the experience of playing against India and its significance for both players and fans. He emphasised that his team needs to maintain focus despite the heightened emotions surrounding such matches.

"An India-Pakistan match is always the most talked about; it is discussed too much wherever you go in the world," Babar said. "The players get different vibes and excitement. What will happen is that everyone supports their country, so the focus is on that match."

He added that maintaining composure is crucial: "Naturally, there will be nerves, but we need to keep our focus, stick to the basics and play easy cricket. It is always a pressure game; the more you keep cool and calm, believe in your skills and hard work, then things get easier."