Indian cricket team may be under pressure in ICC T20 World Cup: Babar Azam

• India is busy playing Test cricket and then they have to play franchise cricket, says Azam.
• Says Pakistan will enter the T20 World Cup with the determination to win.
• Skipper sees the United Arab Emirates as Pakistan's home ground.

LAHORE: Pakistani cricket team captain Babar Azam on Thursday said that the Indian cricket team would likely be a little more under pressure in the ICC T20 World Cup than Pakistan.

He said that Pakistan will play in the T20 World Cup after continuously playing series while India is busy playing Test cricket and then they have to play franchise cricket.

“India as a team may face difficulty in playing T20 cricket as they have played it quite a while ago, whereas Pakistan has an advantage owing to fresh experience of playing seven T20 matches,” said Azam.

Every team enters the World Cup to win and Pakistan, too, will enter the T20 World Cup with the determination to win, he added.

The skipper noted that India and Pakistan are placed in the same group and will face off against one another on October 24.

“No one can tell what is going to happen on the day of the match but I can say that we will play our best,” said Azam.

Speaking of the United Arab Emirates, he said it has been like a home ground and Pakistan has won 31 T20 matches there.

"The playing conditions there always benefit us immensely," he said.

On the expected New Zealand tour, the Pakistani cricket team captain said that he hopes that major New Zealand cricketers are included in the Test team coming to play against Pakistan after a year.

He said that in the Pakistan squad, there are some problems with the middle order, but this presents a good opportunity for the younger players.

“The chief selector has already given an explanation about dropping Sarfaraz Ahmed,” said Azam.

Azam also spoke about his role as skipper, saying: “I don’t have any pressure being the team’s captain and I’m learning from my mistakes.” 

The captain said that he has met former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja, who is set to become the new Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, and they talked about the future of Pakistan cricket.