Pakistan did well in the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup. They reached the semi-finals of the tournament before the partnership between Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade ended their campaign. That said, Pakistan will be backed to do well again in the upcoming edition. On that note, in this article, we predict the strongest Pakistan XI for the 2022 T20 World Cup.

Last year, the tournament was held in UAE in conditions which suited Pakistan well. However, it will be a challenge when the team travels to Australia later this year. Nevertheless, the pace attack of the team is good and hence, there will be expectations from the team to perform well.

Openers: Babar Azam (C) and Mohammad Rizwan (WK)

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan will be the openers in this strongest Pakistan XI for the 2022 T20 World Cup. This combination was one of the main reasons why Pakistan did well in the previous edition. However, the management might think of changing it. While they would require a more aggressive batter to make the best use of the powerplay, considering the inexperienced middle-order, one of Babar or Rizwan might bat in the middle-order to provide better stability.

Middle-Order: Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah and Asif Ali

Last time around, Pakistan had Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez in the middle order. There was plenty of experience but that will not be available for the forthcoming event. While Fakhar Zaman and Asif Ali are likely to retain their places, it will be a fairly inexperienced duo in between. The likes of Ifthikar Ahmed could also get a look in. The management will also want one of the players in this middle-order to be capable of providing a few overs with the ball.

All-Rounders: Shadab Khan

Shadab Khan is likely to be the only all-rounder in the strongest Pakistan XI for the 2022 T20 World Cup. Since he has been in good form with the bat, he is the most probable player to feature at No.7. The team will also have the options of Mohammad Nawaz and Imad Wasim. However, since Australian pitches do not require more than one specialist spinner, only Shadab could play in the team.

Bowlers: Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Shahnawaz Dahani

Pakistan is likely to make use of the same pace attack that they used in the last edition. They have experience and will be backed to do the job. The team might have one more pacer in the XI and here is where the likes of Naseem Shah and Mohammad Wasim could come into the picture. Although he is new, Dahani has got height and pace and adds an X-Factor to the attack. Hence, he is our pick for this XI.