Going to be tough, but Pakistan perform well when no one’s expecting: Latif on team’s T20 WC preparation

New Delhi, Nov 5 Former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif shared his views on Pakistan’s T20I setup and mentioned that while they are a strong team in the 50-over format, the Men in Green are still to find the right balance in their combination for the shortest format of the game, with the T20 World Cup fast approaching.

He noted that the team management must try out new players when Pakistan face relatively weaker teams in the coming months to be match-ready heading into the World Cup next year. The global T20 tournament will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, starting February 7, 2026.

“Right now, Pakistan are playing against relatively weaker teams. In January, they have a series against Australia, but before that, they’re facing lighter opponents. I think this is the right time to try out new players if you want to strengthen the team — later, there won’t be time for experimentation. The other teams are all very strong — South Africa, New Zealand, India, England, and of course, Australia. It’s going to be a tough competition for Pakistan, but sometimes in knockout tournaments, when no one is expecting much from them, that’s when they perform well. Still, they’ll have to work really hard to reach a certain level,” Latif told IANS.

The 57-year-old further opined that Pakistan lost three matches against India at the Asia Cup after being in a strong position at one point in the game, and believes the middle-order needs to improve in the shortest format.

“Historically, Pakistan have been a team that performs well when people count them out — you can never entirely rule them out. Now, if the openers Fakhar and Ayub click, things look good because they’re quality players. But if both get out early, it becomes very difficult. The middle order isn’t very strong and has struggled recently. Against India in all three Asia Cup matches, we lost from strong positions. That’s where they need to put in the hard work,” he added.

Pakistan are currently hosting South Africa for a multi-format series, which consists of two Tests, three T20Is and as many ODIs. The Tests and T20I series have concluded, with the two sides now facing off in ODIs. While the red-ball series ended in a draw, with both parties winning a game each, Pakistan made a remarkable comeback in the T20I series to win it 2-1.

After losing the T20 series opener by 55 runs, the hosts charged up and secured back-to-back wins in the next two games. In the ongoing ODI series, Pakistan are leading 1-0, looking to win the next game on Thursday and take an unassailable 2-0 lead.

While Latif acknowledged that Pakistan’s T20I setup is facing some issues and hopes for the management to resolve everything and they move forward.

“In international cricket, we recently beat South Africa, but we lost a Test match. I believe new players should be tried out. This series presents the ideal opportunity to test bench strength, as you cannot experiment in the same way in tournaments like the World Cup or Asia Cup. Our ODI team is good. We’re facing some issues in T20Is, but in ODIs, Saim Ayub’s bowling has made a difference. Salman Ali Agha, Rizwan, and now some of the senior players are returning. Shaheen has come back and become captain. The players who were being dropped a year ago have now all returned,” he concluded.

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